Kingdom Hearts: Fragmented Bonds
by Wile E. Coyote
Summary: Sora, Riku and Kairi must undertake the Mark of Mastery Exam to become Keyblade Masters as the return of Master Xehanort is imminent. Friends old and new join forces as worlds hang in the balance. Rated T for violence.
1. Prologue: Blank Points

**Kingdom Hearts: Fragmented Bonds**

**Chapter 1: Prologue – Blank Points**

_A far-off dream that's like a scattered memory. A far-off memory that's like a scattered dream. I want to line the pieces up. Yours and mine._

_**Hidden Truths**_

The two of them stood in a black abyss, the only lights emanating from the faint golden aura silhouetting their bodies. Both stared eachother down. The corrupter and the corrupted. Master Xehanort, mastermind that he was, smiled to himself. All too obvious that he was terribly pleased with his efforts to get where he was now. True, most of his ultimate plan had failed. Kingdom Hearts was lost, the X-Blade destroyed, and Vanitas lost to his own darkness. But, he still had options. He had already achieved one.

He stared down the man opposite him. Terra. His body now ruled by darkness, and thus was Master Xehanort's pawn to use.

"Darkness rules your heart, and the body that was once yours now obeys my will," gloated Master Xehanort, eyeing Terra with his disturbing moonlit eyes. "How you can still be here confounds the mind."

"It's still my heart," replied Terra calmly. "You think you can just walk in and takeover? I'm not gonna let that happen."

"Don't even think about entertaining any notions of escaping me, boy," said Master Xehanort, chuckling to himself. He through out his arms boldly. "In the end, you heart will be engulfed by mine forever."

Terra responded with his own amused chuckle. Master Xehanort dropped his arms, taken aback by the young man's calmness.

"Wrong, you're going to get shown the door old man," said Terra. "This is my body and my heart. The only thing that is going to be engulfed is your own heart. By mine."

"As I recall you could not even control your own darkness. Your rage. Your desire for more power," said Master Xehanort, placing his arms behind his back. "How can you even think to overcome my heart?"

Terra smiled confidently, closing his eyes briefly in thought.

"You'll find out soon enough," said Terra, gesturing to his chest. "You didn't think you were the first person to touch my heart?"

Master Xehanort eyed Terra, figuring out his words. He nodded in realisation and smiled to himself.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Someone else has stepped into your heart…Eraqus, my old friend," said Master Xehanort. "You sly fox. Curious. If his heart now resides with yours, where has his body run off to?"

"I'm not afraid of whatever the darkness holds now," said Terra, placing a hand on his heart. He looked up and glared at the old man before him, challenging him. "Even if you take control of my heart and cast me into the deepest abyss, I'll never be swayed from the one cause that pushes me to keep on fighting. I will defeat you and see my friends again. No matter what cost is necessary!"

Master Xehanort looked on as Terra finished, another smile creeping onto his face. A look of admiration but self-confidence on his wrinkled face.

"Brave words to be sure, Terra," he said. "But I'm a patient man, and we can take as much time as we need to settle this little property dispute."

Terra's smile faded as Master Xehanort stepped towards him. Right up into his face, as brown eyes met yellow.

"Know this: You are one of many roads I may choose to take," stated Master Xehanort. "Trust me. I've made sure of that most definitely."

…

_**Image of their backs, preserved in memory**_

While the true Master Xehanort and Terra drifted through the darkness of their combined hearts, their united self, Xehanort, marched quickly down a hall in the castle of Radiant Garden. Little memories clouded his head, allowing him to concentrating on his master's research of the heart and its connection to light and darkness.

The sound of approaching footsteps caught his attention. Xehanort barely had time to turn around as a man's arm swung over his shoulder, pulling him into a buddy-buddy embrace. Xehanort eyed the arm and turned to see the grinning face of Braig looking at him. Braig's hair had grown long in the short time Xehanort had known him, and it was now in a lengthy ponytail. Braig also sported an eyepatch over his right eye, and a deep facial scar on his left cheek. His remaining eye was coloured a familiar moonlight yellow.

"Hey, Mr. Master!" greeted Braig cheerfully. Xehanort stared at this greeting blankly. Braig blinked back and laughed it off. "Oh, come on. Tell that amnesia was just a dumb joke, right?"

Braig nudged Xehanort playfully. To his surprised, his old acquaintance did not seem particularly comfortable with this encounter. Braig's smile faded in slight concern. He moved close to Xehanort's face, studying it closely.

"Hey…you're not Terra?" asked Braig.

Xehanort again stared blankly, lowering his brow. Braig smiled to himself and removed his arm from around Xehanort, giving him a slap on the back as he walked beside him.

"As if! Don't you worry, Xehanort. I've got your back," Braig said. He laughed again as Xehanort brushed off his labcoat sleeve, as if he was going to catch something off him.

The two men continued walking. The seeds for which would spawn a many great disasters upon the worlds.

As Xehanort and Braig strode away down the corridor, from another came Ansem the Wise, walking hand and hand with the young Ienzo, a quiet boy of little words. Later to be known under the more familiar title of Zexion the Cloaked Schemer. The pair both ate salty-sweet ice cream bars, a delicacy concocted by a wealthy duck with a Scottish accent who had appeared in the Radiant Garden not too long ago. All sorts of odd people had come and gone from the kingdom within the past few weeks.

Ansem chuckled as Ienzo moved quickly to catch a bit of the ice lolly slipping off the stick it was attached to. Little did he know that their father and son bond would dissolve within the next year as young Ienzo, along with all of his beloved apprentices would turn against him and consumed by darkness.

Ienzo stopped suddenly and turned away, looking back down the corridor from whence they came. Ansem stopped too, following the young boy's gaze to see Xehanort and Braig walking away down the corridor in the opposite direction. Their backs to him.

A sight in the future that would haunt Ansem the Wise for the next few years.

…

_**Two who were never meant to meet**_

He sat on a rock watching the tide come and go in endless continuation. He had forgotten how long he had sat here once again on the shores of the Dark Margin, in the Realm of Darkness.

Ansem the Wise had survived his suicidal sacrifice at The World That Never Was, thrown with enormous strength right into darkness. Surviving, Ansem wandered aimlessly, wearing a black coat to protect himself from completely falling into darkness. Ironic, considering how these coats had been warn by Organization XIII; whom Ansem the Wise had spent a decade trying to get revenge on. How fitting he now wore their trademark coat to protect himself.

He stared out into the ocean before him, the full moon hanging in the sky being the only form of light in this dark place.

Then, he heard the sound of footsteps being made in the sand behind him. Was it a friend or foe? Not that it really mattered to the old man. He had forgotten most of memories and people he was familiar with. The idea of company was something Ansem had considered in his long time on the shore, and it looked like he was about to get it.

He heard the approaching person come right up to him and stop. And then they spoke.

"Who are you?" asked the voice of a young woman.

Ansem peered up from under his hood to examine the woman who had appeared. The woman was in her late twenties or early thirties, being quite youthful and pretty in Ansem's eyes. She had striking blue hair that grew to just below her shoulders, with beautiful blue eyes to match. She wore a black halter top and short, with two pink ribbons wrapped around the top, intersecting in the middle and going over her shoulders down her back. She wore white-coloured bell sleeves and fingerless gloves, long black stockings and some silver uniquely styled shoes.

"Why hello, it's not often that I get visitors," greeted Ansem the Wise softly.

"Please, call me Aqua," said the woman with a faint smile. "But why are you sitting here all alone in this Realm of Darkness? How did you end up here?"

Ansem looked back out to the ocean in silence.

"Well, I can tell you that this is my second time on these shores. But, like the first time, I cannot remember who I really am nor whence I came. All I know really is my name: Ansem the Wise. Not a very appropriate name considering my past actions. But I do know that I deserve to be here after having harmed so many people in my quest for revenge against those who wronged me," explained Ansem. "Everything was washed away in whatever currents that carried me here."

Aqua bowed her head in sadness. She had hoped this person she had come across would be able to show her the way out. She slowly sat down on the sand beside Ansem's perch, wrapping her arms around her legs.

"That's too bad. I know I've been here a long time, wandering through the endless hours. Trying some way to escape," said Aqua sadly.

"You wish to return to my own world?" asked Ansem.

"It's my friends. I promised I'd be there for them, but I don't know how long it's been since I last saw them," said Aqua.

Ansem eyed Aqua and frowned as he tried to recall some vague memories. Of that boy with the good heart.

"Hmm…somewhere in the scraps of memories that I have left, you remind me of a boy I once knew," said Ansem. "He was true to his friends and kind. Like you. He followed his heart and kept the light safe."

"Did something happen to the worlds?" asked Aqua in concern.

"Sad to say they nearly fell to darkness on more than one occasion, mainly due to my arrogance and misjudged deeds," said Ansem, shaking his head ashamedly. "But at every turn that boy was there with Keyblade in hand to save the day."

Aqua suddenly sprang up. Ansem looked up at her face where hope blossomed. She was beaming like there was no tomorrow.

"A boy with a Keyblade! Was his name Terra or Ven?" asked Aqua.

Ansem really did not want to shatter this woman's hopes but he had no option. He shook his head lightly.

"He went by neither of those names I'm afraid," he spoke.

Aqua's smile immediately faded and she flopped back down onto the sand.

"I should've known," said Aqua, sighing in disappointment.

The atmosphere grew into a depressing silence. Ansem glanced at Aqua from under his hood. He could not see her face completely, but she looked like she was tired. As if wandering for an incredibly long time.

"How long has it been since I met him and friends; about a year now," said Ansem. "Back then my heart was clouded with vengeance. I did terrible things. Both to him and his friends, along with more innocent people who did not deserve to be destroyed by my wrath. So I felt something had to be done, to make amends. Perhaps to clear my conscious, or perhaps out of a scholarly instinct."

"What did you do?" asked Aqua, taking an interest in Ansem's tale.

"The boy was in a deep sleep for a year, and I transplanted the results of my research inside him. Transplanting the data to where it may best serve a purpose. I believe he can settle things out, and once again save the worlds from what possible darkness may still linger," continued Ansem. "A boy like him who touches so many hearts, perhaps he could save those I've harmed."

Ansem looked up to the sky, where no stars shone. A faint smile appeared on his face which further intrigued Aqua.

"So many people are still waiting for their new beginnings. Their birth by sleep. Including me, and you," said Ansem.

"What's this boy's name?" asked Aqua.

"His name is Sora," replied Ansem. He turned sharply as a gasp came from Aqua.

Aqua mouth hung open, but she broke into a joyful smile. And then a single tear ran down her cheek. Ansem was not entirely sure how to react to this. Did she know Sora? Aqua composed herself and looked out to the moon, a smile on her face.

"Sora…" she said.

Aqua nodded to herself and got to her feet. She turned to Ansem and offered a hand to him.

"Come on, Ansem the Wise," she said. "Let's get moving."

Ansem took Aqua's hand and hoisted himself off the rock he sat on.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To find my friend Ventus. If he's still where I left him, than we can wait there until Sora finds us," said Aqua cheerfully.

Ansem silently agreed. The two set off from the coast, a place unbeknownst to them, that the boy they were waiting for had been not too long ago.

…

_**All the pieces lie where they fell**_

A soft breeze blew into the White Room of the forgotten old mansion on the outskirts of Twilight Town. The "witch" as some called her sat in a chair, sketching on her drawing pad. Finishing her work, Namine examined the drawing before her and smiled to herself. It was a familiar spiky-haired boy, sitting on a tree branch overlooking the setting sun of his island home. She looked out of the window into the similar sunset over the town.

Nearby, perhaps a memory or an afterimage, three very close friends sat atop the town's clock tower. The three figures dressed in black, cursed to feel nothing and yet they had hearts. Together forever. They sat eating salty sweet ice cream bars. But all three stopped in unison and shared a gaze out onto the beautiful city before them. Roxas, Axel and Xion all shared smiles.

And in a once beautiful garden sat a boy. A boy so very similar to Roxas, but also different. He slept soundlessly in a chair, but stirred in his sleep as another older man approached: Terra. Ventus opened his eyes and smiled to Terra. They were both joined by a middle-aged man sporting a moustache and goatee. All three looked up into the starry night sky.

And there was one person on each of these different people's minds. The person they were all connected to in their own ways. All waiting for him to come and save them. And together they spoke his name.

"Sora."

…

_**The sign of things to come**_

King Mickey stood before his old master's desk, thinking things over in his mind. Looking up to address Master Yen Sid, he noticed his master was staring at him in concern.

"There are so very few Keyblade wielders left, Mickey, and even less Keyblade Masters," said Master Yen Sid, stroking his long, grey beard. "With Master Eraqus' death, and the disappearance of Aqua, Terra and Ventus, you were the only Keyblade wielder still active."

"Don't worry, Master Yen Sid," said King Mickey. "I think we are close to finding out where Ven's heart is."

"Excellent, Mickey. Now all that leaves is Terra, as we know Aqua is somewhere within the Realm of Darkness," said Master Yen Sid. "It's a pity that all those who have been lost can be found."

King Mickey got the jist, bowing his head, unable to hide lingering guilt for an event long ago.

"I never should of let him go, Master," said King Mickey sadly, clenching his fists. "If only I had held onto him longer, he would not have fallen into darkness."

"There was nothing that you could have done," said Master Yen Sid. "Besides, right now there are more important things to be concerned about. Xehanort for example."

King Mickey was taken aback in surprise. What in the world was his master talking about?

"Xehanort? But he's gone. Both his Heartless and Nobody were destroyed by Sora and Riku," said King Mickey.

"True, Ansem and Xemnas met their ends and returned to darkness. However, there lies the problem," said Master Yen Sid gravely. "For if a Heartless and Nobody of the same person are defeated, they can reunite in the darkness and become one once again."

"Wha…why didn't you tell me this!" shouted King Mickey in shock.

"Calm yourself my friend. I had to be sure about this before I told you, but it's true. Which means Master Xehanort will return," said Master Yen Sid.

"And you think he's gonna try something?" asked King Mickey, dropping his anger.

"Perhaps. Knowing Master Xehanort, he will once again try to obtain power over Kingdom Hearts," said Master Yen Sid. "Perhaps using the Heartless, or the Nobodies, or maybe even attempt to re-create the X-Blade. A man like Xehanort will have left many roads open to use."

"Well, whatever he tries to do, me, Sora and Riku will be able to stop him," said King Mickey confidently.

"True, they are strong Keyblade wielders. But neither of them are true Keyblade Masters," said Master Yen Sid. "Only me, you and Aqua wherever she is have obtained the title."

"What are you suggesting?" asked King Mickey. Master Yen Sid slowly rose to his feet.

"Tell me, would a single one of you suffice, if there was a single Xehanort," said Master Yen Sid.

"What!" cried King Mickey, once again bewildered by his master's cryptic words.

"Mickey, how many Keyblade wielders are there currently?" asked Master Yen Sid.

"Well there's me, you, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Terra, Ventus, Aqua, Master Eraqus if he was still around along with Master Xehanort and that Vanitas guy…and Sora said Roxas could use two Keyblades," said King Mickey. "But I've never met Roxas, so I could never confirm it."

"I see. Mickey, bring Sora to me immediately. And Riku," ordered Master Yen Sid. "Sora will bring Roxas with him as a result."

"And Kairi?" asked King Mickey. "I think I know where you are going with this."

"Indeed. I want Sora and Riku to take up the Mark of Mastery, and we shall see if they are worthy to become true Keyblade Masters," explained Master Yen Sid. "As for Kairi, with so little experience with the Keyblade, I believe she is not yet ready. Now go, my friend. The fate of the worlds depends on our fast actions!"

King Mickey nodded and hurried out of the room in an instant. Master Yen Sid sat back down in his chair and put a hand to his mouth in thought.

…

This prologue is mostly based on the Birth By Sleep secret ending. For anyone curious about the ambiguous character Mickey and Yen Sid are talking about, well you'll find out, but you can always guess who it is.


	2. Attack At Sunset

**Chapter 2: Attack At Sunset**

The sunset shone brightly above Destiny Islands, illuminating the sky and clouds in beautiful colours of orange, yellow and pink. The sea practically sparkled as the sunset sank lower from the sky. Truly a sight to behold for anyone who lived on the islands.

The Childhood Island had been empty recently, mainly due to the growing kids who played on it growing up and attending school. Well, most of them. Sitting on the curving tree overlooking the beautiful sunset was Sora, now sixteen years old. He maintained his trademark spiky hair, but wore a school uniform consisting of a white polo short, dark trousers and a blue tie which hung loosely from his neck. Sora stared off into the distance with lost eyes, deep in thought. He held a glass bottle in his hands, which contained a scrolled letter from King Mickey.

It had been a year since he had been handed the letter addressed to himself, Riku and Kairi but there was no word from King Mickey for months. Sora was worried.

"Sora?" asked a voice. Sora turned as Riku appeared, crossing the bridge to reach the small island where Sora was sat. Riku was also dressed in a school uniform. His silver hair had grown longer, and his bangs of hair dangled over his face.

Hands in his pockets, Riku joined Sora on the tree. He looked at his best friend with understanding concern.

"You didn't show up at school. You're not gonna start bunking are you?" asked Riku, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"No, Riku," said Sora. "It's just I'm worried about the King and the others. There are people who need our help. But there's no way we can leave our world."

"Could a raft work?" asked Riku sarcastically. Sora laughed and smirked at Riku, giving him a playful nudge with his elbow.

"I wish," replied Sora. "But every time I read this letter, I get more worried."

Sora pulled up the bottle and removed the cork, retrieving the letter from inside. He unrolled it and skimmed through it.

"The king talks about people who knew about the Keyblade before we did. Who are they?" asked Sora.

"I don't know, Sora," replied Riku. Sora looked away out towards the sea. "But I have a guess."

"You do?" asked Sora.

"Do you remember when we were really young, there were those strangers on the island?" asked Riku.

"Strangers? Remind me," said Sora obliviously.

"There was that guy who I talked too, and that blue-haired woman," said Riku. "Well, I think that guy gave me the power to use the Keyblade. And that lady had some connection to the Keyblade too."

Sora thought for a moment. He could not remember any man, but the flash of a blue-haired woman appeared for a second in his mind. He looked up in surprise.

"Oh yeah, I remember the lady," said Sora. "You found her really pretty."

"Shut up!" said Riku, blushing lightly.

"But how do you know he gave you the Keyblade?" asked Sora.

"I remember. He did some sort of action to pass on the Keyblade's power to me," guessed Riku.

"Well, what about me and Kairi?" asked Sora. Riku merely shrugged.

"I don't know," said Riku.

"Well, I never had any Keyblade passing thing pulled on me, so how did—" said Sora, only for a foot to suddenly kick him in the back of the head, causing him to tumble off the tree and land on the sand below.

"SORA, YOU LAZY BUM!"

Sora looked up and saw Kairi standing over him, eyes blazing. She wore a school uniform too, which was the same as the boys' but wore a blue skirt. With a furious face she grabbed Sora but his tie and pulled him up to his feet.

"Sora, you're bunking off school!" snapped Kairi. "Again!"

"Kairi! I was—" began Sora but was silenced when Kairi shook him angrily.

"There are no Heartless, Nobodies, or Organization XIII around here anymore," said Kairi. "You've no reason to run off at the moment."

"I'm sorry, Kairi," apologised Sora, managing to free himself from his friend's grasp. "I'm just worried."

Kairi examined Sora's eyes, seeing his concern. Her angry features melted away into a more considerate one.

"About King Mickey not visiting?" asked Kairi. Sora nodded. "Don't worry, Sora. He'll show up sooner or later."

"You think?" asked Sora.

"I don't think so. I know so," said Kairi, folding her arms in a mocking gesture of pride. "Trust me, guys. If anything is going to happen, we'll be the first ones."

Suddenly, a gush of harsh wind hit the three from behind. Kairi let out a surprised squeal as her hair blew around her face. Sora and Riku covered themselves as sand from across the island was blown towards them. The three turned, Sora looking over his arm to see a dark swelling portal had formed on the beach, a corridor of darkness.

Sora moved passed Kairi and ran across the bridge, standing on top of it, never letting the corridor of darkness from out of his sight. He turned to Riku who followed him.

"Riku!" said Sora, throwing out his arm and summoning his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key, in a flash of light. Riku nodded and summoned his Keyblade as well, the Way to Dawn.

Kairi moved to join her friends on the bridge, but Sora threw up a warning hand.

"Kairi, don't, it could be dangerous!" cried Sora.

"But I can—" retorted Kairi.

"Stay there!" shouted Sora.

"Damnit Sora! Stop treating me like I'm helpless!" shouted Kairi back, stomping her way along the bridge to her friends. Sora was taken aback by her temper.

"Kairi…" said Sora.

"Here they come!" said Riku, catching his friends' attention.

The three watched as the portal swelled again. A man emerged from the portal. His face was covered by a hooded cloak, but he looked up to examine the three teenagers watching him from the bridge. The man was dressed in a combo of modern and medieval-like clothes, wearing a bodysuit with an armoured chest plate mounted on the front. On top of that was a purple jacket, and then a brown longcoat covered that. Other pieces of armour were scattered across his body including shoulderpads and a gauntlet on his left hand. He wore armoured trousers and large boots which were coloured dark silver. Strapped to his back via a sash was a large broadsword, which had a relatively small guard for such a large blade, coloured red and black.

Sora left off the bridge to the sand below and approached the man, stopping a short distance from him.

"Who are you?" asked Sora.

The man did not reply, but instead drew his large broadsword from his sash and slammed it onto the ground. It was obviously heavy, but he was able to carry it with one hand.

"The wielder of the Keyblade," spoke the man. "Well, one of them."

The man removed his hood to reveal his face. He was around his early thirties, having striking long purple hair kept in a ponytail which ran halfway down his back. His eyes were an icy blue, and he stared at Sora calmly.

"What do you want?" asked Sora.

The man raised his sword and pointed it at Sora.

"You," said the man. "I've been asked to take you alive. We'll have to see how well that goes."

The man then charged Sora. Riku immediately sprang off the bridge, as Sora threw up his Keyblade in defence. The man raised his broadsword and brought it down on Sora's Keyblade, nearly cleaving the weapon in two, had Riku not leapt in at the last moment and forced the man back with his own weapon.

The man drew back his sword and quickly found Sora and Riku standing either side of him, Keyblades at the ready. Sora stood in front of the bridge, Riku nearer to the portal.

"I see, two against one," said the man. "A bit unfair from heroes such as yourselves."

"Tell us, who are you?" asked Riku. "And what do you want with Sora?"

"My name is Nox Noctis," said the man, noticing something moving before him. He smiled to himself. "And that's my little sister Umbra."

Sora turned as a girl around his own age appeared out of the portal. Like her brother she had purple hair which ran down to just below her shoulders. She was dressed completely in black and grey, wearing a black jacket and overcoat which was too big for her, dragging it in the sand. She had pale green eyes which glared at Sora and Riku. She raised what looked like a metallic dustbuster, a handle and trigger built to the end.

"Don't hurt my brother," said the girl, Umbra, coldly. She pulled the device's trigger, and a green laser shot fired out in Sora's direction. Sora ducked as the laser flew by, sending sand flying behind him.

Umbra's eyes spotted Riku, and she reached into a belt, pulling out a second laser gun which she aimed and fired at Riku. Sora and Riku met as Umbra fired her two laser guns at them. Both raced under the bridge, a stream of exploding sand and flying laser shots following them. From the bridge, Kairi lost sight of Sora and Riku, following Nox as he raced under the bridge after them. She spotted Umbra's hair disappearing under the bridge and sprang into action. Kairi dived off the bridge, Umbra appearing from under the bridge. She looked up in surprise as Kairi flew out of the sky, landing on her and tackling her to the ground. Umbra pushed Kairi off her and leapt away, throwing up her laser guns.

"You're reckless!" cried Umbra.

"Thanks for noticing. No one hurts my friends," said Kairi.

"And no one hurts my brother!" snapped Umbra.

"Nice pair of ray guns you've got there," said Kairi. "But you made a dumb move."

Kairi smirked confidently, and summoned her Keyblade, Destiny's Embrace. The Keyblade was golden, the blade at the end resembling metallic flowers. The curved handle had pointed, one of which was painted like a blue ocean wave. The keychain was attached to a red cord, the keychain itself shaped like a star-shaped Paopu fruit. Keyblade twirled in her hand like she was a pro. Riku had been training her.

"You brought some guns to a Keyblade fight!"

Umbra gaped. This girl was serious. Umbra raised her guns and opened fire, a volley of laser blasts shooting at Kairi. To Umbra's surprise, Kairi moved like a cat, leaping about and dodgy most of the laser blasts, blocking some with swipes from her Keyblade. Umbra fired a crackshot. It skimmed across Kairi's left side of her lower body. Kairi let out a scream and collapsed, using her Keyblade for support herself from completely falling to her knees.

Umbra walked over and held one of her laser guns to Kairi's head.

"You brought a Keyblade to a gun fight," said Umbra mockingly.

That was when a figure appeared behind Umbra. She turned to see who had arrived, only to be smashed across the face by a blurred object. She flopped over. Unconscious. Kairi looked up, a gloved hand offered to her. She smiled and took it.

…

Sora, Riku and Nox had taken the fight to the other side of the island. Sora and Riku had barely anytime to fight back against Nox as he could swing his large broadsword quite quickly despite it looking so heavy. Sora threw up his Keyblade to block another blow from Nox's sword. Riku leapt in, striking a blow at Nox's sword. Nox swung his sword around, blocking the attack dead on with his blade. Nox noted a cracking noise when Riku's Keyblade made contact with his blade. He examined it briefly, a small crack had appeared in the sword's surface. He grimaced knowing this fight wouldn't last much longer.

He looked up as Sora suddenly leapt in, swinging his Keyblade. Nox didn't have time raise his sword as Sora's Keyblade hit him straight in the chest. Nox backed away, wheezing in pain, nearly dropping his sword. He coughed and hit his chest to ease the pain, but suddenly convulsed and fell over, coughing heavily. Sora and Riku lowered their Keyblades and exchanged glances.

"Are you okay?" asked Sora, surprised by their attacker's sudden change of motions.

Nox continued to cough lightly for a few moments, and then rose to his feet.

"Yes, I am. But unless you plan on killing me, I'd advise you not to hit me there again," said Nox, raising his sword again for battle.

Sora and Riku threw up they Keyblades again ready to fight. Nox raised his sword ready for another round, only for a large weapon resembling a cross between a pike staff and a halberd pierced the spot which Riku had caused a crack to appear, further damaging Nox's sword. Sora looked at who was wielding the weapon and a huge smile crept onto his face.

"That will teach ya for messing with my friends!" cried Goofy, captain of the guard of Disney Castle. He still wore his trademark green and brown jumper, waistcoat and baggy trousers, along with his circular battle shield, the Disney Castle's coat of arms on the surface – resembling the king's head.

Goofy released his halberd from Nox's sword, taking a large chunk out of the surface of the sword. A green magical aura formed around Nox's sword, and it suddenly shot out of his hands, flying up into the air before tumbling to earth and landed on the sand nearby. Sora's smile grew even larger when Donald Duck, court wizard of Disney Castle, appeared. His hands were raised, glowing with the green magical aura. Donald gave a casual wave to Sora, pointing at Nox to trap him in the magical glow to. Donald suddenly threw his arms up in the air. Sora's eyes nearly rolled back into his head at the speed Nox took into the sky. The swordsman let out a scream as he somersaulted through the air. Donald ended the magical demonstration by waving his hands in an intersecting cross. Sora and Riku watched as Nox fell from the sky, safely landing in the ocean nearby.

And finally, King Mickey sprang into view, his own Keyblade in hand. Nox emerged from the ocean, soaked to the bone. He now realised he was completely outnumbered. And more importantly, where was Umbra?

He noticed Kairi run in, out of breath, her Keyblade in hand. Panic spread across his face. It was time to escape and fast. In a quite literal sense.

Sora blinked and Nox had vanished from the water. Sora darted about looking for him, and spotted him for a split second beside where his sword had landed. The two shared a brief glance. Nox looked almost apologetic. He vanished with another blink.

"Hey!" cried Sora.

Kairi felt a gust of wind blast past her. She turned around, seeing a blurred form race by across the beach.

Nox sped across the island, coming across his sister's unconscious form. He scooped her up in his arms after inserting his broken broadsword into his sash. And with that he was gone, vanishing into the corridor of darkness.

…

Back on the other beach, the six combatants exchanged bewildered glances. And then Sora burst into a fit of joyful laughter, retracting his Keyblade and immediately ran to Donald and Goofy. The three friends engaged in a hug, Goofy dropping his halberd and shield to avoid skewering his buddies. Riku moved past them and greeted King Mickey in a warm handshake.

"Hey guys, what took you so long?" asked Sora as the hug with his friends ended.

"We were busy," said Donald, shrugging lightly. "Lots of training to do."

"We caught that guy and this little girl eavesdropping out Master Yen Sid's tower, and we chased them through a corridor of darkness to here," added Goofy. "Gawrsh Sora, why were those two here?"

"They said they wanted me for some reason," explained Sora. "I don't know why though."

"You guys have got skills," said Kairi, walking over to greet her friends. Donald and Goofy smiled and shook hands with her in proper greetings.

"You were great too, Kairi," Donald complimented her. "You've got really good with the Keyblade."

"Well I had some help," said Kairi. She glanced over to Riku who shared a smile with her. Sora stared blankly.

"Riku trained you with the Keyblade?" asked Sora. "Why didn't you ask me for help, Kairi?"

"Are you kidding me, Sora?" said Kairi. "You had tons of school work to catch up on!"

Sora scratched the back of his head, going quiet and sheepish. He nodded lightly. It was at this point that King Mickey spoke.

"Sora, Riku, I need you come with me, Donald and Goofy," said King Mickey sternly. "To Master Yen Sid immediately."

"Why, You Majesty?" asked Riku, joining Sora and Kairi.

King Mickey paused for a moment to compose himself and looked up to the three standing before him.

"Master Yen Sid wants you take up the Mark of Mastery Exam," said King Mickey. "And he has things to tell you."

"Take the what?" asked Sora.

"The Mark of Mastery Exam. A test. And if you pass it, you will become true Keyblade Masters," said King Mickey.

Sora and Riku exchanged shocked expressions. Riku looked back and forth between Sora, King Mickey, Donald, Goofy and briefly eyed Kairi. Riku then looked back to Sora and saw his deadset face. Riku thought for a moment and then nodded lightly to Sora. They both turned to face the king.

"Alright, we'll take this exam," said Riku.

"Good, let's get moving then. Hopefully that swordsman left the corridor of darkness open," said King Mickey, marching past the group who immediately followed. "If its closed than we'll have to call Chip and Dale to send a Gummi Ship."

The group came along the spot where they first met Nox and Umbra, and to their delight, found the corridor of darkness still there.

"We'll have to move quickly. Staying in a corridor of darkness too long may attract some Heartless," said King Mickey.

"Right, Your Majesty," said Sora. He turned to Kairi. "Kairi, we'll be back shortly."

"I'm coming with you," she said bluntly.

All five of her friends turned sharply. Sora stared as if Kairi had grown a second head. All five were immediately on her, all shouting cries of objections. Kairi looked about her in disbelief and waved her arms about to shut them up.

"Kairi, it'll be too dangerous," said Sora.

"Sora, Riku, guys," said Kairi. "I'm tired of being left behind and waiting. I waited a whole year for you and Riku to come home, and eventually I had to find you even if I was sort of kidnapped by Axel. But I've got a Keyblade now. I can fight. What's the point of me giving the power to fight for the people I care about if all I'm allowed to do is stand around and wait?"

The five others all looked at her in silence. It was Riku who spoke first, placing a hand on Kairi's shoulder.

"Alright, Kairi. You can come," said Riku. He turned to King Mickey in concern. "She _can_ come right?"

"Master Yen Sid she was not ready to take the exam," said King Mickey. "But he never said she couldn't come with us."

"Sora?" asked Kairi, looking to her friend for his reaction. Sora smiled brightly and nodded.

"Sure thing, Kairi," replied Sora. "I've been a bit preoccupied lately, I haven't really noticed how strong you are. I'm sorry."

"It's okay," said Kairi.

The two exchanged a glance…a very long glance. Riku rolled his eyes and whispered to King Mickey, "Here they go again."

"Do they do this often?" asked King Mickey, observing the two as they were lost in each other's eyes.

"A lot," replied Riku. Donald quickly grew impatient and leapt in front of Sora and Kairi.

"Hey, you lovebirds, can we get this show on the road?" he snapped, causing the teenagers to jump out of their trance.

"Shut up, Donald!" cried Sora, blushing, trying to hide it from Kairi but she let out a cheerful giggle.

"Alright everyone, let's go take this exam," said Riku. "But what do we have to do, Mickey?"

"Yeah, since you're a Keyblade Master, what did you do in the exam?" asked Sora. "Are we gonna have to write an essay or something?"

"No, Sora. It's a bit more practical than that," laughed King Mickey as the group filed into the dark portal.

Sora, Riku and Kairi all stopped briefly and turned back to look at their beloved island home. Sora looked particularly upset.

"Hey, Sora, we'll be back soon," said Riku, patting his friend on the back.

"Yeah, you're right, Riku," said Sora as he disappeared into the portal. "I mean how bad could the reason be that we suddenly need to do this thing?"

…


	3. The Mark of Mastery

**Chapter 3: The Mark of Mastery**

There were mixed reactions in Yen Sid's office when he broke the news to Sora, Riku and Kairi regarding what was to come.

Sora stared unbelievably at Master Yen Sid like he had grown a second head, mouth hanging slightly open. His arms hung from his sides, but his hands slowly curled into clenched fists.

Riku was the calmest of the three. His eyes were hidden under his overgrown fringe, but he raised his head enough to show saddened, hurt eyes.

Kairi was less concerned about her own reaction and glanced at Sora and Riku trying to understand their reactions. She looked to Master Yen Sid who sat behind his desk with King Mickey at his side. Donald and Goofy stood nearby, eyeing their friends worriedly. Kairi gulped and was the first to speak.

"How will Xehanort try to come back?" she asked Master Yen Sid.

Master Yen Sid nodded acknowledging her answer. He raised an arm and snapped his finger twice. Two puffs of smoke suddenly burst in thin air besides Yen Sid's desk. Donald and Goofy jumped out of the way in shock, as two figures were revealed as the smoke cleared. It was Xehanort's Heartless or "Ansem", and Xemnas, Xehanort's Nobody. Both virtually identical, silvery hair, yellow piercing eyes, dressed in black. Sora glared at the two with equal resent.

"Although the efforts of Sora, Riku, Donald and Goofy were useful in thwarting the Heartless and Nobodies," said Master Yen Sid. "It seems that with the defeat of Xehanort's Heartless, and then his Nobody Xemnas, have allowed the original Xehanort to return."

"How?" asked Riku in turn, stepping forward to the sorcerer's desk, placing his hands on it firmly.

"If a Heartless or a Nobody of a person with a strong heart is defeated, they are thrown into limbo until their other half is destroyed. That way, both can come together," explained Master Yen Sid. "The heart reconnects with the body and soul, and the person is born anew. It is inevitable that Xehanort – no – Master Xehanort will return."

It was at this that Sora spoke up. He was clearly angry.

"You mean after all we did. After everything we all went through…we made it worse!" asked Sora, his eyes blazing.

"Don't blame yourself, Sora," quacked Donald, waddling to his friend and gave him a smack on his back. "None of us knew this was gonna happen."

"There is one difficult question though," said King Mickey.

Everyone watched silently as the king rounded his master's desk and joined Riku, looking at Master Yen Sid with guilt-stricken eyes.

"Master Yen Sid…did you know this would happen?" he asked.

All eyes turned to the sorcerer. Master Yen Sid shook his head lightly.

"No, Mickey. Only until I told you about it did I realise Xehanort's return was possible," said Master Yen Sid. "My claim of a Heartless and Nobody rejoining was what I believed to be nothing more than a theory."

King Mickey accepted his master's truth with a firm, thankful nod. He turned away and joined Donald and Goofy. He motioned for Sora to join Riku at the desk.

"Now, Sora and Riku, you two were brought here to take up the Mark of Mastery Exam," said Master Yen Sid. "To see if you two are worthy to become Keyblade Masters. If you can prove yourselves worthy, then you will have enough power to defeat Master Xehanort once and for all."

"What is his plan, Master Yen Sid?" asked Sora.

"A man like Xehanort would have left many roads open. We've already seen what destruction he has caused to the worlds, but as his Heartless and Nobody wanted, he will likely desire Kingdom Hearts," said Master Yen Sid.

"Was he always crazy about darkness and stuff?" asked Goofy.

"I knew Master Xehanort when we were younger. He always believed there should a balance between light and darkness, but quickly became more interested in darkness…and the Keyblade War," said Master Yen Sid. "Eventually he searched for Kingdom Hearts, hoping to restart the Keyblade War by creating the X-Blade, a Keyblade strong enough to summon Kingdom Hearts and use it to open a door to all worlds. If Master Xehanort were to repeat this, he would likely allow the Heartless to spread to every world!"

"Which is why we've got to take this exam, and fast!" said Sora. Everyone in the room save Master Yen Sid nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. But first, you must know of those who could be of great help to you," said Master Yen Sid. "If they can be found."

"You mean the people the king was talking about helping in his letter," said Sora. "I have to help them. They helped me in some way."

"Indeed. The first is Master Aqua, the last person entitled as a Keyblade Master in the past decade," said Master Yen Sid.

With a wave of his hand, the two Xehanorts vanished and were replaced by the form of Aqua, the blue-haired Keyblade Master. Sora and Riku looked her up and down, a look of familiarity on their faces.

"Sora, that's the woman who we met years ago," said Riku in surprise. "When we were kids."

"You found her cute," joked Sora. Riku blushed briefly and bonked Sora on the head with his fist.

"She disappeared into darkness and we only assume she is still there," said Master Yen Sid. "And next is Terra. He too disappeared during Master Xehanort's last attempt to start the Keyblade War."

Aqua's form vanished, replaced with a tall, dark-haired man in his late twenties. Riku frowned, again recognising the man.

"You've got be joking…" said Riku. "That's the man who gave me the Keyblade."

Sora did a double take, eyes bugging out.

"No way!" he cried. "That's the guy. That's Terra!"

"Yep. He did that ceremonial thing to pass the Keyblade onto me," said Riku.

"The Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony," said King Mickey. "I gained the Keyblade from Master Yen Sid as he gained it from his master. Terra and Aqua gained their Keyblades from Master Eraqus. He was killed by Master Xehanort sadly."

Master Yen Sid bowed his head for a moment in silence.

"And who is the third guy?" asked Sora.

"I assume the one responsible for giving you power over the Keyblade, Sora," said Master Yen Sid. "The third is Ventus. He was Master Xehanort's apprentice, until his heart was used to create the X-Blade. His heart stripped off its darkness, which was transformed into a creature of evil: Vanitas."

"But Ven overcame Vanitas and defeated him, but at a cost," said King Mickey.

"What happened?" asked Sora.

"He lost his heart. I saved Mickey, Aqua and Ventus from the X-Blade's destruction, but Ventus' heart had gone. His body lifeless," said Master Yen Sid. "Aqua departed with Ventus to their own world, and we can only assume both disappeared into darkness. As for Ventus' heart…it may have been found."

Sora beamed in hope. Master Yen Sid waved his hand again, and Terra's form vanished to be replaced again by a new person. Sora took one look at the new person and his jaw dropped. Riku, Kairi, Donald and Goofy also looked gobsmacked in their own ways. Standing before them was Ventus, a teenage boy around Sora's age, with blonde-ginger hair and dressed in clothes which were half white, half black. The five astonished friends all exchanged bewildered looks.

"Roxas!" cried Sora.

King Mickey looked puzzled, looking back and forth between Sora and Ventus, noting the similarities between them.

"Roxas? He's your Nobody," said King Mickey.

"Yeah, and this guy _is _Roxas!" cried Sora, pointing at Ventus.

"How can that be?" asked Goofy.

"Mickey and I were right," said Master Yen Sid, rising from his chair. He quickly rounded the desk and approached Sora. "Ventus' heart survived, but fled to shelter. To someone whose heart was like his. He took shelter in your heart, Sora. And through one event to another, he was reborn as your Nobody, Roxas."

Master Yen Sid pressed a finger onto Sora's chest and closed his eyes. He began muttering some words but they were so quick that Sora could not understand what the sorcerer was saying. A patch of light formed on Sora's chest where Master Yen Sid's finger was. Master Yen Sid suddenly threw out his finger, and a burst of light shot out of Sora's chest. The light faded, revealing a floating heart. Master Yen Sid then threw his arms forwards focusing on the heart, and in another burst of light, the heart vanished. Replacing it was a teenage boy with golden blonde, the unzipped black coat of Organization XIII covering casual clothes. Sora's Nobody Roxas.

Roxas stared blankly around him, and then realised the enormity of what had happened.

"What the heck!" he cried, immediately turning to Sora. "Sora, what did you do?"

"Why are you blaming me for?" asked Sora in bewilderment.

"I've been listening. What are you talking about!" snapped Roxas furiously, looking confused. "Who is Ventus!"

"You are, Roxas," said Master Yen Sid. Roxas turned and glared at the sorcerer. "I know this is likely to be confusing to you, but in time you will understand."

"I spent all this time trying to figure out who I am and where I came from," shouted Roxas, "And you mean to tell me that I'm now someone completely different!"

Roxas bowed his head trying to come to terms with what was going on. However, the situation was hampered when King Mickey unexpectedly flung himself onto Roxas, pulling him into a hug. Roxas was taken aback.

"You're alright, Ventus!" cried King Mickey. "I was so worried. When you and Aqua disappeared, I thought the worst had happened."

Roxas was gobsmacked, not to mention practically everyone else in the room. He had no choice but to prize the king off of him, for a moment worrying he would be arrested for merely touching the king. These suspicions were confirmed for a brief moment when he heard a shocked quack from Donald.

"No offence, Your Majesty, but I am not. I can't be!" said Roxas. "I am Sora's Nobody. Made from his heart."

"And yet you have your own," said Master Yen Sid. "Something not common among Nobodies."

"Calm down, Roxas," said a new voice. All heads turned in the direction of Kairi, only for a second near identical girl to emerge from Kairi's body. She was transparent, but her bright blonde hair and white dress made her look like an angel.

"Namine," Sora said, a smile popping up on his face.

Namine glanced at Sora and Riku, giving them a brief smile. She approached Roxas, grabbing his hands to calm him down.

"Roxas, everything's gonna be alright," she said soothingly. "It may be hard to accept this stuff, but if you are really this person Ventus, you can find out what truly happened to you."

"She's right," piped up Sora, coming over to his Nobody and giving him a slap on the back. "We'll help you through this, Roxas."

"Perhaps, it would be wise if you too Roxas took up the Mark of Mastery," said Master Yen Sid, once again stroking his beard. "Since you are technically an accomplished Keyblade wielder, you may make a fine Keyblade Master."

He then turned his attention to Namine and within a few seconds, her body solidified like Roxas. Namine was taken aback for a second but smiled warmly and thanked Master Yen Sid with a respective bow.

"Now then, we shall prepare for the Mark of Mastery," said Master Yen Sid. He eyed Sora and Riku's school uniforms and put a hand to his chin in thought. "Perhaps it would be wiser to change your clothes beforehand. School uniforms are not appropriate for the exam."

Master Yen Sid looked towards a nearby door and shouted "Ladies!" The door opened and in stepped the three Good Fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. All of them wore puffy red, green and blue dresses and pointed witch hats.

"Well, ladies, looks like we have some magic to perform," said Flora happily, drawing a small wand from her dress. The three ladies quickly swamped around Sora and Riku, dragging them across the room to the doorway. They passed through into the next room, which was small and circular.

Flora turned to Roxas, who looked at her blankly.

"You too, dear," said Flora.

"Oh no, that's okay," said Roxas, waving his gloved hands in denial. "I'm fine with what I'm wearing."

Flora nodded her head, she and Fauna leading Sora and Riku into the next room, but Merryweather hovered behind and examined Kairi's clothes. She turned to Master Yen Sid.

"Is she participating in the exam?" she asked. Master Yen Sid shook his head. Merryweather merely shrugged and took Kairi by the hand. "Oh well, I'll fix you something up anyway, deary."

Kairi nodded and followed Merryweather, taking her hand and was led into the room. Donald, Goofy, King Mickey and Namine all poked their heads through the door to observe the potential fashion display. Roxas, meanwhile, stood slightly back and looked at the image of Ventus, seeing his own face staring back at him. He frowned. Unsure of how to properly react.

"Alright, dearies, let's settle this quickly without getting into a fuss," said Flora. "Although, I think they'd all look quite lovely in red."

"No, no!" snapped Merrweather. "Blue would be better."

"Now, now, sisters. Let's not get so wrangled up," said Fauna, calming her sisters down. "We'll use our magic together."

"Very well, dear," said Flora, nodding to her sister. Merryweather was not so complacent, shaking her head and grumbling to herself, earning a giggle from Kairi.

"We'll perform our magic on you first Sora," said Fauna. Sora nodded nervously, recalling the mayhem the three fairies caused the last time he visited for a clothes change. "Alright then, on the count of three. One, two, three!"

All three fairies waved their wands. Three spiralling blasts of magic hit Sora at the same time, and his clothes exploded in a flash of light. The light reshaped Sora's clothes and then faded, his school uniform gone. Replacing it was a new black, grey and red outfit. Sora now wore a black t-shirt, a diagonal white cross cutting through the centre o it. Over that he wore a new short-sleeved zipper jacket, mostly coloured a light grey highlighted with black stripes. He sleeves were a jet black, although their ends changed to a bright red. The jacket's hood was also red. He wore a black and blue belt, which held up a pair of red and black padded trousers. Completing the outfit were a pair of trainers, mostly black with touches of red here and there, and a pair of fingerless gloves which were a dark grey, the wrist bands coloured yellow. Sora's crown-shaped necklace hung around his neck.

Sora looked up and down his new outfit in awe, turning to look at his reflection in a mirror. Riku and Kairi came up behind him to observe.

"Sweet!" cried Sora, smiling broadly. "Thanks, ladies."

"Nice outfit, Sora," complimented Goofy from the door. "Every time we see you, you're growing up so fast."

"Goofy, you're talking like my dad," said Sora, embarrassed. Goofy replied with a cheerful "Ahyuck".

"You look really good in that outfit, Sora," said Kairi. Sora immediately blushed and smiled, rubbing the back of his head sharply.

"Heh, thanks Kairi," said Sora. Riku rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Alright, Riku can be next. Although it looks like some work will have to be done on your hair, dear," said Flora. "You won't be able to see much with those bangs." Sora and Kairi stepped aside as Riku was shot with another magical blast from the three fairies.

Riku was surprised by his new appearance. Most notably was that his long floppy fringe was gone, and his hair had miraculously receded to just around his ears. His outfit now consisted of a sleeveless t-shirt, hidden under a sleeveless zipper jacket, the back bright yellow whilst the front was coloured a bleached creamy colour. A large black belt with a silver buckle was fastened around a pair of denim jeans coloured a light turquoise. He wore white and grey trainers, and black wristbands on his arms. Riku looked at himself in the mirror. Fashion was not exactly a pastime of his, so he turned to Sora and Kairi for reactions.

"What do you think?" he asked bluntly. Kairi burst out laughing at his awkward question.

"Riku, you never were interested in your own appearance," said Kairi in-between giggles. "You look great."

"Thanks, Kairi," said Riku, smiling with slight embarrassment at his friend's statement.

"And now, time for you, Kairi," said Merryweather. "We don't get the opportunity to gives young ladies new clothes, since Master Yen Sid keeps sending young men to us."

"I heard that!" called Master Yen Sid from the next room. King Mickey, Donald and Goofy giggling between themselves.

Kairi was hit by the magical spell too, and gained her new outfit. Her school uniform was replaced by a rather simplistic outfit. Kairi wore a purple and white sleeveless top, held up by shoulder straps. The white part of the top created a heart shape. Kairi's necklace hung around her neck. Over the top she wore an ocean blue-coloured, short sleeved denim jacket, highlighted with golden threads along the bottom and sides of the sleeves and pocket areas. She wore a pair of dark blue shorts which went down to her knees, exposing her lower legs, a pair of purple and white trainers on her feet. Kairi smiled at her new appearance, and did a twirl to get a full look at her outfit. Sora and Riku were both blushing, and even Roxas looked quite interested, having wandered over to look at the goings on during Riku's turn.

"It's fantastic!" said Kairi, walking over to Merryweather. "But, I can I make one more request?"

Kairi whispered something in Merryweather's ear. The short, plump fairy chortled to herself and tapped her wand against part of Kairi's hair. Kairi turned to face her friends. A single bang of hair on her head had been dyed jet black in colour.

"Your hair!" cried Sora in surprise. "I didn't know you wanted to dye it."

"I was just curious to see what it would look like in a different colour," said Kairi. "This will do though."

"You look quite good with black hair," said Namine.

Roxas stared at Kairi. He couldn't put his finger on it but he felt oddly nostalgic, the sight before him familiar but sad. As if it wasn't the first time he had seen Kairi with black hair. He briefly clutched his head as a brief but sharp strike of pain filled his head, and the image of a raven-haired girl appeared in his mind smiling at him. It vanished as quickly as it came. No one seemed to notice this brief event, so Roxas shook it off. He had enough on his mind already, like his true identity for example. He was panicking inside. Was he going to have an identity crisis?

The group quickly thanked the three good fairies and filed back into Master Yen Sid's study. Master Yen Sid examined each of the new changes and nodded to himself. He raised him arm and summoned his old Keyblade, the Star Seeker, a purple curved Keyblade with a moon and a star built into the tip of it, the keychain being a silver segmented chain with a small crescent moon on the end. He raised the Keyblade and pointed it at Sora, Riku and Roxas.

"Draw your Keyblades," he commanded.

Sora drew out the Kingdom Key, a confident smile appearing on his face. Riku silently complied and drew his Way to Dawn, looking at it in thought. Roxas hesitated for a moment and summoned his dual Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, the opposites of eachother, coloured white and black.

"Impressive. Two Keyblades," noted Master Yen Sid, giving a smile to Roxas.

He eyed each of the three Keyblade wielders, trying to read their emotional states. He then threw out his Keyblade to his side. Donald, Goofy, Kairi, Namine and King Mickey watched tense, wondering what Master Yen Sid would do.

"Now then, Sora, Riku, Roxas!" he shouted. "Let the Mark of Mastery Exams begin!"

…


	4. The Return

**Chapter 4: The Return**

As soon as Yen Sid said those words, Sora found himself suddenly flying through the air, the world spinning around him in slow motion. At first he thought this was part of the exam, but then he noticed everyone and everything else in the room were flying too. Yen Sid's desk was somersaulting across the room, missing Riku and King Mickey by yards and smashing against the far wall. And why did his ears hurt? It was then that everything sped back up as everyone crashed to the floor, and a loud explosion blew out the room's window. The whole tower shook to its foundations. Sora slowly stumbled to his feet, holding his head in pain as the others realised what was going on. Sora immediately made a beeline to Kairi, grabbing her hand and helping her to her feet.

"Kairi, are you okay?" he asked, to which Kairi replied with a stunned nod. Riku appeared next, brushing dust out of his silver hair.

"What just happened?" he asked, turning to Yen Sid, who was slowly getting to his feet and placing his pointed hat on his head. "Master Yen Sid, was that part of the test?"

"No, it seems we are not alone," said Yen Sid.

A faint but ominous laugh came from somewhere outside and a familiar voice sounded off with "You going that right, old timer."

Sora ran to the window, followed by Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Roxas. Namine hovered behind, a look of concern on her face. King Mickey joined Yen Sid. Hovering upside-down in midair was a middle-aged man with greying hair held in a ponytail, a scarred face and sporting an eyepatch. He wore a black hooded cloak and grinned at the Keyblade wielders and their friends in a smug, intimidating manner. Roxas' eyes dilated at the shock of seeing Xigbar hovering outside the window like nothing had happened. Whilst Roxas may have become one with Sora, he had seen through his eyes that Xigbar had faded into darkness.

Sora looked equally startled to see the second member of Organization XIII alive and kicking. He shook his head slightly in disbelief.

"Eyepatch guy!?" he cried, gaining a bewildered expression from Roxas and nearly causing Xigbar to tumble from the sky.

"Hey, kid, the name is Braig," said the Freeshooter. "But you're welcome to call me Xigbar."

"How are you alive?" asked Roxas. Braig spotted Roxas and a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Yo, Roxas," said Braig, saluting his former comrade. "You've still got that look on your face. Good. I'll miss it. Oh, and your little question has a pretty obvious answer."

"His heart and body reunited," said Riku.

"Yeah, something along those lines," said Braig. "Or not."

"What?" asked Roxas. Goofy was already scratching his head.

"Never mind, you'll find out soon enough," said Braig, turning himself right-side-up. "Anyway, enough of this social chit-chat. Time to get down to business."

"What business might that be?" asked Yen Sid, joining the others at the window with King Mickey and Namine.

"Oh, just to wipe you all out among other things," said Braig casually.

"There's one of you and eight of us," quacked Donald, twirling his magician's staff.

The duck's smile faded as Braig burst out laughing and summoned his two identical gun-arrow weapons, which fused together into sniper rifle.

"Whoever said I was alone?" said Braig. Behind him, eleven corridors of darkness opened. Sora's heart dropped as he saw eleven people emerge from the darkness, each wearing hooded black cloaks identical to Braig's. The Organization XIII had returned. However, Sora counted each person in black, and counted only twelve. Where or who was the thirteenth member? Something clicked in the back of Sora's head and he turned to Roxas.

"Roxas, they must be here for you," said Sora, gaining a look of alarm from Roxas.

They failed to notice a smug smile appear on Braig's face. The Freeshooter primed his weapon and aimed it at the tower once again. An energy shot formed at the tip of Braig's sniper rifle, and with his grin still hanging on his face, he fired the energy blast.

Sora had about two seconds the grab the nearest people to him – namely Kairi and Roxas, and threw them to the floor. Riku did likewise, motioning for Donald, Namine and King Mickey to follow. As another explosion struck the side of the tower, blowing apart the windows and taking a chunk out of the wall, Sora managed to make out the forms of Goofy raising his shield to protect the others from a majority of the blast and flying debry, and Yen Sid raising his hands to deflect some of the destruction using a magic spell. Some of the debry fired went flying back out of the window. Time soon snapped back to normal as the sound of the explosion rocked Sora's ears. He raised his hands to cover, only to realise his elbows were propping him up and he fell forwards, landing face down on someone.

Sora had his eyes closed when he landed on the person below him, and for a moment, had a weird sense of utter euphoria. He could feel something. Someone's mouth. Sora's eyes snapped open and he immediately found a pair of familiar, oceanic blue eyes staring back up at him, and a face full of red hair. Sora's world came crashing down as he pulled away, seeing Kairi's stunned face staring up at him, turning nearly as red as her hair. Sora's brain was screaming, ringing, banging cymbals and making a panic in his head, louder then the explosive bullets that Braig was now firing through the wall at the others. Goofy was defending the others as best he could, getting knocked back further and further across the room whilst Yen Sid and Donald were conjuring up some sort of barrier to protect the group. But Sora was more focused by what had just happened, if it had happened. Did he and Kairi just kiss?

To Sora's left, Roxas was leaping to his feet and drew his Keyblades, Oathkeeper and Oblivion, and went to Namine to check on her. Riku and King Mickey were also on their feet, Keyblades drawn.

"Sora, Kairi, what are you guys doing down there?" shouted Riku to get their attentions. "Hey, guys, what are you—"

Riku trailed off upon noticing the position his best friends were in and their stunned expressions. He stared at them for a moment, before putting two-and-two together and his jaw dropped. He wasn't exactly sure how to respond to this considering the situation they were in, but it had to be fast. One of Braig's bullet-arrows shot past Riku, impaling the wall behind him. He managed to snap back into action and struck several arrows aside, assisted by King Mickey. From the other room, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather appeared, looking startled by the commotion.

"Goodness, what chaos!" cried Flora in alarm.

"Such destruction!" said Fauna, close to tears.

"Those no-good scoundrels!" shouted Merryweather, shaking her body angrily, looking for a fight.

"Stand back, ladies," cried Yen Sid. "Get out of here."

"But, Yen Sid—" said Flora.

"Go, now." said Yen Sid calmly, without raising his voice. The three good fairies all shared desperate looks but all sadly nodded in agreement and with a whip of their wands, they all vanished into thin air.

As chaos reigned around them, Sora and Kairi were still locked in their own little world of utter shock. Sora's head was still spinning, trying to come to terms with what had just happened. He continued to stare down at Kairi, looking for some sort of reaction and how he could react himself. He could feel his heart beating in his heart like it was about to burst. He had faced some terrifying things in his life, but this felt like it was about to outdo all of them. Sora's heart skipped a beat as Kairi's reaction came in the shape of a rather affectionate, if not embarrassed smile.

"Kairi, I-" said Sora, hearing another explosion behind him. Sora turned around, seeing Goofy knocked to the ground by the blast. He turned back to Kairi.

"Maybe now isn't the best time," said Kairi, grinning at Sora. Sora silently nodded and leapt up, summoning the Kingdom Key. Kairi clambered to her feet, drawing Destiny's Embrace. Both glanced at each other, then looked away, their faces turning red.

Sora looked over to Riku, seeing his stunned expression. Sora cringed, trying to find the right way to explain. Riku sighed instead and mouthed something to Sora, which he could read as something along the lines of "Took you long enough." Yen Sid stepped into view, raising his old Keyblade and fired out an energy barrier out the hole in the wall, blocking Braig's continued attack. The Keyblade wielders and their allies all looked up at the barrier outside, protecting them. Braig prodded the barrier and grimaced. He turned away, as if giving up.

"Will that be enough to keep them out?" asked King Mickey to Yen Sid.

"Yes, but while is one of the weakest barriers I could create, it is strong enough to defend us from the Organization," said Yen Sid, lowering his Keyblade. "Clearly Xehanort is behind this."

"Why would he attack us here?" asked Riku.

"As a precaution, and to eliminate his enemies all at once," said Yen Sid. "Most interestingly, how he has been able to reform the Organization with all of the inner turmoil?"

"Because this is the true Organization XIII," whispered a voice behind Yen Sid, causing him to spin around in alarm. One of the hooded Organization members stood before him. He drew a pair of identical, streamlined blades from his sleeves. The swords, the Ethereal Blades, were blue in colour.

No one near Yen Sid had time to react as the cloaked man moved with lightning speed, lopping Yen Sid's Keyblade in two. The man sprung up like a leopard to run through the sorcerer, only for Yen Sid to throw up a hand and send his attacker flying backwards, crashing into a bookshelf. Roxas took the opportunity to spring on the assailant, pinning him to the wall with his twin Keyblades crossed over one another. Yen Sid glanced briefly down to see his old Keyblade lying in two before his feet. The old sorcerer then turned towards the gaping hole in his office, raised a hand and a huge bolt of lightning shot out of his fingertips, clean through the energy shield without damaging it, and attempted to blast the Organization out of the sky. One of the cloaked members outside moved by Braig, raising his own hand.

Inside the tower, the Keyblade wielders watched in astonishment as a swirling black hole materialised out of thin air, and absorbed all of the lightning bolts in an instant. Sora's emotions were running high, what with his friends under heavy fire, the return of Organization XIII, and what just happened with Kairi. At this point, his instincts kicked in and he raised the Kingdom Key. Ready for a full onslaught. The man who created the black hole waved his hand, and the swirling void vanished as he quickly as it came. The man then threw up his arms, summoning two long, red energy blades. Sora's heart skipped a beat again, as the man flew at the energy shield, and went into an aerial spin, and shattered the shield upon impact. Donald immediately fired out several fireballs and a blast of ice from his hands. The man dodged the attacks as they flew outside, and went to attack Donald. Riku stepped in, blocking the man's energy blades with his Keyblade.

"You're Xemnas, right?" said Riku, staring into the darkness of the man's hood.

The man knocked Riku away, withdrew one of his energy blades and used his free hand to remove his hood, revealing the silver-haired Xemnas, leader of the Organization. Xemnas smiled proudly, and glanced over his shoulder to give Sora the same grin. Sora immediately sprung into reaction, moving to strike Xemnas with his Keyblade. Xemnas pulled out his second energy blade, and engaged Sora in combat, using one energy blade to fight Sora and the other to fight Riku. Mickey leapt in, attempting to catch Xemnas by surprise. Xemnas saw the mouse king coming, and suddenly ducked as another Organization member barrelled into the room, knocking Sora and Riku off their feet, and smashing Mickey hard into the wall. Riku quickly got to his feet and watched as Mickey slumped to the ground.

"Mickey!" cried Riku in alarm. Sora, Donald and Goofy immediately leapt to the offensive. Donald and Goofy went after the newcomer, whilst Sora and Riku leapt at Xemnas again.

The first intruder with the twin blades made a move. Catching Roxas by surprise, the man thumped him hard in the gut, knocking the air from his lungs. Roxas had to lower his Keyblades, and quickly received a thrashing from the man with his Ethereal Blades. Roxas managed to regain some strength, and began blocking his opponent's attacks with Oathkeeper, and managed to clip his opponent's right hand, causing him to drop one of his blades. Roxas brought Oblivion down on the man's head, but he dodged, stepping backwards. Roxas advanced forwards, hoping to corner the man, but he continued to dodge his attacks. Roxas decided to pull something fancy, swinging Oathkeeper with one hand, and then spun to attack with Oblivion. However, as soon as he spun around, the man had vanished. Roxas looked around for a second.

"Where did he go?" said Roxas.

"You're too slow, Ventus," said the man. Roxas only had time to glance over this shoulder as the man launched a bright blast of energy from his blade, smashing it into Roxas' back. Roxas flipped forward like doll, and before he could even hit the ground, the man fired another blast, blowing Roxas right through the wall, disappearing into darkness below.

"Roxas!" screamed Namine, who had been hiding behind Yen Sid's wrecked desk to avoid the brawls. She immediately leapt up, abandoning her own safety and ran to the new hole in the other side of the tower, peering out into the darkness for any sign of Roxas.

"You are in my way," said the man.

Sora, who was busy fighting Xemnas, had heard the explosions that sent Roxas flying outside and looked over towards Namine. Namine briefly made eye contact, before she disappeared in a flash of blue and vanished into the darkness too. Sora's heart finally caved in and just let out a horrified scream. He immediately heard one from Kairi too, who immediately pulled out her Keyblade and intended to literally deck the man.

"Kairi, no!" shouted Sora. "He's too strong!"

Kairi looked over to Sora and then turned her attention to the man, who picked up his dropped sword and glared at her. Kairi was suddenly knocked off over as Donald was blown off his feet by Mickey's attacker, who quickly tossed Goofy over him, tossing him like a rock. Goofy landed on Riku, causing the two fall as well. Sora looked about in alarm, seeing his four friends down for the count with the Organization members bearing down on them. Yen Sid, who had been charging up more lightning in his hands, raised the sparkling ball to the sky and immediately shot it at Xemnas. The Superior was not prepared for this attack, and took the full brunt of the attack, somersaulting outside the way he came in.

Yen Sid turned his attention to Mickey's attacker, immediately launching a fireball at him. The man dodged, allowing the fireball to make another hole in the tower. However, the blast was enough to blow his hood off – revealing another silver haired man, this one sporting a slightly darker skin tone to Xemnas but shared the same piercing, yellow eyes. Sora was taken aback at the sight of Xehanort's Heartless, or Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness. How was he here? Yen Sid had said Master Xehanort, the original, was back.

"How is this possible?" cried Yen Sid, asking Sora's question for him.

"We left many roads open for us," said Xehanort's Heartless, sporting a particularly smug smile.

"This is taking too long," said the hooded man. "Let's just get what we came for and leave."

"What's the rush?" asked Xehanort's Heartless, turning his attention to Riku as he and Goofy struggled to their feet. "We were also asked to eliminate any potential hazards."

"Only those who may get in the way," said the hooded man.

"Whatever you came for, I will not permit to leave this tower alive!" shouted Yen Sid, producing fire in his hands.

The hooded man suddenly vanished before Sora and Yen Sid's eyes and in the blink of an eye, stood beside Yen Sid. The sorcerer looked astonished for a moment, finding the fireballs he had created were gone.

"Your attack is useless," spoke the hooded man, and he threw up a hand, launching the two fireballs Yen Sid had at the sorcerer. Yen Sid was fast, extinguishing the flames with a wave of his hand.

"How are you doing this? I've never seen magic like this before," said Yen Sid, fining himself stroking his beard in curiosity.

"It is more than magic," said the hooded man. "Something more powerful."

Yen Sid threw up a hand, and blasted the man with a burst of wind, knocking him past Sora. The hooded man smashed right through Yen Sid's desk, carving it into two. Getting to his feet, the man threw off his hood, revealing familiar silver hair and yellow eyes. But this man was a lot younger than Xehanort's Heartless and Xemnas, around Sora and Riku's age.

"Who are you?" asked Sora, turning to face the young silver-haired man.

"I am Xehanort," said the boy. "Xehanort of the past. Just as we are all Xehanort."

"What!?" cried Sora, now completely confused.

"Enough of this. Take him," said Young Xehanort to someone behind Sora.

Sora glanced over his shoulder, just in time to see Braig spin in midair and perform a brutal roundhouse kick. He struck Sora in the head, sending the boy sprawling to the floor, unconscious. His Keyblade clattered to the ground and vanished. Braig grabbed Sora, and flipped over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Without a second look back, the Freeshooter vanished into thin air, taking Sora with him. As soon as Braig vanished with Sora, Riku, Kairi, Donald and Goofy were immediately on their feet and launching strikes and magical attacks upon the two Xehanorts. Riku dashed across the room, not noticing that Mickey was beginning to regain his senses where he fell.

Riku went to strike Young Xehanort, but the man blocked a blow from Kairi's Keyblade and then vanished from the room too. He turned his attention to Xehanort's Heartless. Donald and Goofy both double-teamed on Xehanort's Heartless, Goofy bulldozing the Heartless towards Donald who was coming in the other direction, ready to electrocute him. Xehanort's Heartless smirked, suddenly summoning the huge, dark arms of his Guardian Heartless. The arms grabbed Goofy by the arms and flipped him right over Xehanort, causing him to land on Donald. Donald's lightning bolt struck Goofy's shield, and Riku had to shield his face as another explosion blew a hole in the floor, sending Donald and Goofy plummeting through it to the floor below, accompanied by a holler of "Yahoo-hoo-hoo-hooey!" and followed by a crash.

Xehanort's Heartless suddenly found himself cornered, with Riku, Kairi and Yen Sid all aiming their Keyblades or magic at him. Mickey suddenly sprung up behind Xehanort's Heartless, aiming his Keyblade at the man's throat.

"Why did you take Sora?" shouted King Mickey, briefly glancing about the room at the destruction.

"And you'd better give him back!" snapped Kairi, looking about ready to skin someone alive.

"Calm down, Kairi," said Riku, managing to look away before Kairi gave Riku a near murderous-looking glare. "Xehanort's Heartless, how in the world are you alive? Yen Sid said when a Heartless and Nobody are both defeated, they can reunite and revive the original person. But how can you and Xemnas both exist after what happened? And that other guy who said he was the Xehanort of the past. What's his game?"

"I can answer these questions for you, young Keyblade wielder," proclaimed an aged, craggy voice from behind Riku.

King Mickey gaped in sheer horror, releasing Xehanort's Heartless from his grip and fell to the floor. Riku and Kairi watched with a sense of dread as an elderly bald man walked into the room from the hole in the wall, hands behind his back and smiling broadly. His piercing yellow eyes

"Master Xehanort," said Yen Sid. "You have returned."

"Indeed, Yen Sid," said Master Xehanort, eyeing each of the people in front of him. He looked at Xehanort's Heartless and motioned for him to leave. His Heartless nodded, and quickly barged his way past the Keyblade wielders and flew out of the tower. "All of this was decided long ago, that my twelve selves would come together today when I returned as a complete person."

"How did you plan this?" asked King Mickey.

"That is an explanation for another time," said Master Xehanort. "I believe now it is time for a change of scenery."

Riku blinked and was startled that Yen Sid's wrecked office was gone. Replaced with the familiar white walls of The Castle That Never Was. Surrounding him were thirteen tall throne-like chairs, towering up nearly to ceiling. Sitting in each was one of the members of Organization XIII, though most still wore their hoods over their faces. Master Xehanort, the young Xehanort, his Heartless, Xemnas and Braig all sat in the throne in front of Riku. Riku noticed that only Kairi and Mickey had been teleported with him, and Yen Sid, Donald and Goofy were absent.

He hoped Namine and Roxas were alright. He had felt so helpless when both of them blasted out of the tower. He glared up at Master Xehanort, who sat comfortably in the highest throne.

"How did we get here?" asked a baffled Kairi, looking about at the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Master Xehanort is very skilled with magic, but I've never seen him do this before," said King Mickey. He turned his attention to Master Xehanort, who grinned expectantly.

"Xehanort, why have you done this?" he asked.

"In ancient times, people believed that light was a gift from an unseen land named Kingdom Hearts," explained Master Xehanort. "But it was safeguarded by its counterpart, the X-Blade. The original Keyblade. Warriors vied for the precious light, introducing darkness to the worlds, and beginning the great clash known as the Keyblade War. Ultimately, no one won the war, and the X-Blade was shattered into twenty pieces – seven of light and thirteen of darkness. And Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by darkness, never to be seen again."

Master Xehanort repositioned himself on his seat, hooking his right leg over his left, and resting his head on his right hand.

"I tried creating my own pure light and darkness to forge the X-Blade and begin the war again, but the attempt ended in failure. In my eagerness, I had lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal. I acted rashly. I can admit now."

Master Xehanort could not help but give a smug smile. Riku looked to Mickey, who was practically fuming. The king pointed an accusing finger towards the old man.

"Your mistakes changed the lives of three friends I hold dearly," shouted King Mickey. "Don't you feel any regret for what you've done?"

"Destiny is never left to chance, for I merely guided your friends to their proper places," said Master Xehanort. "The broken boy who failed to become the blade, the misguided master who sacrificed herself for a friend, and the feckless youth who became my new vessel. I attempted to allow young Ventus to die a peaceful death the first time he failed me, but outside interference gave him a second chance which I exploited appropriately."

Mickey bowed his head in shame.

"I couldn't find a way to save them," said King Mickey. "But I believed their sacrifices had put a stop to your plans for good. But I should've realised you were still moving around in the shadows when Maleficent began targeting the princesses."

"Yes, many of things that have happened were my doing," said Master Xehanort. "I used the evil fairy to gather seven pure hearts of light for me. Just as I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness."

"But you failed," Riku spoke. "Sora stopped you on both counts."

"Indeed, he did," said Master Xehanort with a surprise hint of respect in his voice. "That dull, ordinary boy changed so much in my plans. It is nearly hard to believe his heart can connect to so many people. A kind of light not seen aside from those of the princesses."

"What did you mean by preparing thirteen vessels to fill with darkness?" asked Kairi, catching a smirk from Master Xehanort. It made her skin crawl.

"That was the original purpose of Organization XIII," said Xemnas, entering the conversation from his throne to Master Xehanort's right. "I gathered twelve Nobodies whose hearts I could fill with darkness and a piece of my original self. A piece of my own heart, so in turn, there would be thirteen versions of myself."

"Thirteen Xehanorts. Meaning thirteen seekers of darkness," said King Mickey.

This struck a cord in Riku's mind. Something wasn't adding up in Xehanort's plan. How could the Nobodies' hearts be filled with darkness and replaced, if they didn't have hearts to begin with? That is when Riku's eyes widened in alarm and looked up towards Master Xehanort.

"The Nobodies had hearts all along!" he cried. King Mickey and Kairi exchanged puzzled glances. "It would make sense. I thought that Namine and Roxas had emotions because of Kairi and Sora's positions as a Princess and a Keyblade wielder, but then when I met Namine, and fought Roxas, I realised they had their own hearts. And so did Axel. He was driven by his friendship with Roxas. And I knew it was true as well when I met…"

Riku suddenly trailed off, staring into space with a look of confusion. There was someone missing from his memories. Someone who was like Roxas, Namine and Axel, but now they were gone. Riku closed his eyes for a moment, trying to picture the person's face or name. All that he could muster was a very vague, blurred image of someone wearing a black cloak. But their face was lost to mist.

"Riku? Are you alright?" asked Kairi, snapping Riku back into reality.

"Yeah, Kairi, I'm alright," said Riku, giving her a warming smile. "The Organization members all had hearts, right, Xemnas?"

"In a manner of speaking," said Xemnas. "You see, our experiments in Radiant Garden were numerous and lengthy. I suggested we try to attempt to see if we could control the minds of the test subjects and convince them to renounce their sense of self. Allowing a portion of Xehanort's heart to take over. In the end, we created the Heartless and Nobodies, and the foundations of the Organization were built. But understand that one can banish the heart from the body, but the body will try to find its heart or replace as many times as it takes until it is whole again. It was relatively easy to convince the other members they lacked hearts and join my cause."

"In short, Xehanort and Xemnas formed the Organization to gather a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts and make them all Xehanorts," said Braig. "Kapesh?"

"But, weren't you afraid of turning into someone else?" asked Kairi.

"Girl, I've been Xehanort for a long time," said Braig, gesturing to his yellow-coloured eye. "I got used to it. Though with some of the others here, it took a bit more convincing."

"Through weakness of body, will or trust, most of the original members we chose for the Organization proved to be inadequate," said Xemnas. "And all of them save Roxas were sent back to darkness by you Keyblade wielders."

A twinge of guilt struck Riku. The Organization members, even though some of them were downright horrible, did not deserve this kind of fate. Did this make him a murderer? He could destroy Heartless because they weren't human anymore. He had assumed he could destroy the Nobodies because they were the same.

"And I'm guessing after the original members all were defeated, you somehow resorted to this plan and gathered your different selves. Pulling them out of time," said King Mickey to Master Xehanort.

"Indeed, I have gathered thirteen seekers of darkness, and now all I need are seven guardians of light to create the X-Blade," said Master Xehanort. "The guardians of light being Keyblade wielders."

King Mickey turned away, facing Riku and Kairi.

"Well, there's me, Riku and Sora," he whispered. "Plus, Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Though he is Roxas now, or are there two of him? That's six."

Kairi gave an audible cough to catch Mickey's attention and she pointed to herself.

"And I guess you make number seven, Kairi," said Mickey, earning a nod from her. He turned back to face Xehanort and was immediately baffled by the man's smile. "There, we have seven!"

"Try again, little king," said Master Xehanort. "For Terra belongs to me, as does another on your list. You are two guardians short."

Master Xehanort pointed across the room. Riku, Kairi and King Mickey all turned, and spotted Sora sitting in one of the chairs behind them. He was slumped and unconscious, but it looked like he was aware of what was going on – his face was stained with spilt tears. He had been listening since they got here.

"Sora!" cried Kairi. "You're going to turn him into you?"

"Correct," said Master Xehanort, slowly heaving himself to his feet and perching on his throne. He drew his Keyblade, a pitch black weapon which looked like it was covered in frozen black flames. "He is a worthy candidate to become the final member of the Organization. Like Roxas and Ventus before him. And I have an ally who desires greatly to have a new body."

"There's no way that Sora will let someone evil into his heart," snapped Riku, drawing the Way to Dawn.

"Put your Keyblade away, Riku. Our battles have not come yet," said Master Xehanort. "We will battle when all of the pieces are gathered, and then my prize will be formed. But first, it is time to complete the thirteen seekers. All the seats are filled and now the last vessel shall bear a heart of darkness! Come forth!"

Master Xehanort raised his Keyblade, firing out a blast of shadows which landed at the foot of Sora's throne and took the shape of a tall figure in a black hooded cloak. The figure turned his head, revealing two yellow headlamp-like eyes in the blackness of the hood. It then turned its attention to Sora and suddenly sprung up, reaching the top of the throne in one leap. It hovered in front of Sora, crouching in midair to examine him.

"Sora!" shouted Riku and immediately made a dash for his friend. Mickey was faster, vaulting his way up between two thrones to reach Sora. Xemnas suddenly appeared in front of Mickey, tackling him and smashing him into the floor.

Riku ran towards Sora's throne, only for Xehanort's Heartless to leap out of thin air and pretty much perform a body slam on him. Riku hit the floor hard, feeling the air forced from his lungs. He looked up as Kairi made a beeline for the throne, performing a twirling aerial spin which got her to Sora's level. He knew she had been practising a lot to home her skills, but he was unaware she could do that.

"Sora!" cried Kairi, only to come face to face with the yellow-eyed stranger.

"You're kind of pretty. I can see why he likes you," said the stranger. "But you're in my way."

The stranger backhanded Kairi hard, sending her toppling down to land beside Riku. Another member of the Organization appeared before Kairi, grabbing her by the scruff of her shirt and hoisting her up into the air with one hand. He used his free hand to remove his hood, revealing the scarred face and blue hair of Isa, former seventh member of the previous Organization.

"You are our captive once again," said Isa bluntly.

"Don't you dare hurt Sora!" cried Kairi, trying to kick out at Isa, but he held her at arm's length.

"Hurry, Vanitas, and take hold of your new vessel," said Master Xehanort to the stranger.

"You don't have to tell me twice," snapped Vanitas and summoned a Keyblade. It was a dark red and black, made from parts of gears, chains and a glass eye was built into the hilt. The Keyblade, Void Gear, lacked a keychain aside from several brown cogs meshed together. He aimed it at Sora's heart. "Ventus' heart was here. How appropriate."

Vanitas aimed the Void Gear at Sora's heart and was about to throw it forwards, when a hand grabbed the hilt. Vanitas looked up as his potential host's blue eyes stared back.

"I like opening my heart to people, but not those who wanna harm others," said Sora, knocking Vanitas away. Leaping to his feet, Sora drew the Kingdom Key and leapt at Vanitas, their Keyblades clashing. Vanitas' arms suddenly bulge in size, transforming into wispy black tendrils which wrap around Sora, causing him to drop his Keyblade.

"Then I'll guess I'll have to let myself in by force!" cackled Vanitas and pierced Sora's heart with the Void Gear. Sora's head was thrown back in shock, his eyes and mouth open. Vanitas' dark form engulfs Sora, wrapping around him until the Void Gear is absorbed by Sora's heart, sucking in all of the shadows seconds after. Sora dropped like a stone to the floor.

Riku, Kairi and Mickey stared in silent horror at Sora's body as it lay motionless on the floor. Riku's head was spinning. This had happened to him when Xehanort's Heartless had possessed him, but he his reaction to his possession had been quick. Had Sora's heart given out? Maybe it wasn't strong enough to carry such darkness like his had.

"Sora!" cried Kairi, lashing out further to escape Isa's grip but to no avail. She was panicking from head to toe. "Damnit, someone help!"

As if heard by some celestial being, a flash of light burst across the ceiling of the room. What looked like a green shooting star bounced off the walls like it was in a pinball machine, but striking the middle of the floor in a burst of light and flames. Xehanort's Heartless, Xemnas and Isa were blown off their feet, releasing Riku, Kairi and Mickey. Kairi and Riku rushed to Sora's side, Kairi dragging Sora into her arms. She pressed an ear to his chest. Riku fell to his hands and knees beside them, waiting for a reaction. His fear quickly ebbed away as Kairi let out a sigh of relief.

"He's alive," she said.

"Yeah, but who is gonna be in control when he wakes up," replied Riku.

"Guys, you made it!" cried Mickey. Riku looked up, seeing Donald, Goofy and Yen Sid standing in the middle of room. Armed with their weapons, Donald wielding his staff even though he no longer needed it, Goofy with his circular shield, and Yen Sid wielding his old Keyblade.

"Sorry we're late, Your Majesty," said Donald. "It took a little time to locate where Xehanort had taken all of you."

"Yeah, but we're here to help!" added Goofy with a humble smile.

"Thanks, my friends," said Mickey, earning smiles from his dedicate servants.

"Mickey, you and the others must get out of here," said Yen Sid bluntly. "I will stay here and deal with the Organization."

"But, Master Yen Sid—" said Mickey, only for Yen Sid to raise a hand. A huge ring of fire exploded to life around the thrones of the Organization. Donald and Goofy joined Riku, Kairi and the unconscious Sora, shielding them.

Around them, all of the members of the Organization rose to their feet. Yen Sid raised his Keyblade and with a spark of magic, opened a swirling portal to another world.

"Now you must go," said Yen Sid. "Master Xehanort's plans cannot be allowed to come to pass through Sora."

Seeing no other options, what with the inferno surrounding them a group of powerful fighters about to leap on them, Riku motioned for Kairi to head for the portal. Picking Sora up, Riku flung his best friend over his shoulder and run for the portal. Donald, Goofy and Kairi all followed, with Mickey bringing up the rear. Master Xehanort raised his Keyblade and all of the Organization members sprung from their thrones, flying towards the fleeing Keyblade wielders. Mickey, who was just about to run through the portal, paused, seeing Yen Sid standing alone to take on the Organization. Thinking for a split second, Mickey turned from the portal and instead ran to join his old master.

Riku glanced over his shoulder, seeing Mickey and Yen Sid battling the Organization, only for a blinding flash of light to engulf them from view, blasting its way through the closing portal. Riku was blown forwards off his feet, smashing into Goofy from behind. Donald and Kairi followed in a domino effect. Riku hit the ground hard, and only had enough time to glimpse Sora's body hit the ground nearby as his vision blurred and was then consumed by darkness.

Riku fell into his subconscious and immediately began wondering about all that had happened. He now knew Xehanort's ultimate goal, and everything he had done, everyone he had manipulated or harmed, was all leading up to this. Boy, did he want to hit that old man so hard. But what was going to happen to Sora now that that Heartless thing had invaded his heart. He knew even someone like Sora had darkness inside him, but it was tame compared to over people he had met. Would Sora's Heartless grow stronger as a result? And in a completely different situation, who was that person he had tried to remember? He felt strangely sad that he could not remember a person he was not sure he had even met. Besides, there were more important things to worry about.

And then another question struck his mind. What had happened to Namine and Roxas?

…

Elsewhere, the remains of Yen Sid's castle stood alone with several holes blown in the highest tower, and smoke coming out of the shattered windows. Standing at the foot of the castle, with Roxas and Namine held under his arms, the Flurry of the Dancing Flames let out a surprised whistle.

"Wow, they blew this place to hell and back," said Lea with a nervous grin. "I guess I'd better take you two somewhere safe."

He looked down at his two friends. Roxas looked in bad shape, with much of his black cloak destroyed and with numerous cuts across his body. Namine had taken just as much damage, with much of her beautiful blonde hair and white skirt turned black, combined with spilt blood. Lea stared at his friends with regret. Why hadn't he gotten there sooner? When he had woken up after falling into darkness, he was in the old laboratories of Radiant Garden. The dark markings around his face had done, and he felt a heartbeat in his chest. But he wasn't the only one there. Dilan, Even, Aeleus and Ienzo were also there too. Back to their original selves, though he understandably got a right lecture from Even and kick in the shin from a moody Ienzo.

Lea smiled to himself, and placed Roxas on the ground. Snapping his fingers, a portal of darkness materialised in front of him. He picked up Roxas again, and flipped him over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry I was late guys," said Lea. "I said I'd always be there to bring you back. And I intend on keeping that promise."

Lea walked towards the portal, opening his free hand. In a burst of flames, an intricate looking Keyblade appeared in his hand. It was shaped like a bright orange flame, with one of Lea's chakrams built into it to serve as a handle. The keychain was a tiny version of Lea's second chakram. He disappeared through the portal, which closed behind him. Taking his friends to a place where hopefully they would be safe.

…


	5. Whispers in the Dark

**Chapter 5: Whispers in the Dark**

When he woke up, Sora found himself in a world of darkness and everything about his body felt wrong. His head felt like a fifty ton weight, and he had trouble standing up. His chest felt ridiculously tight, and when he puts his hand to his chest, he could feel his heart beating like there was no tomorrow. The last thing he remembered was attacking that hooded guy, only for him to turn into shadows. After that it was a blank. He assumed his friends had escaped Organization XIII, but now he had no idea where he was. It was like when he had turned into a Heartless. He spend what felt like an eternity floating in darkness, feeling his mind and heart fade away, only to hear Kairi's voice and then wake up in his Heartless body. This was different. He must have been somewhere with a sense of physics, since he wasn't floating and he felt solid ground under his feet.

"Hello? Anyone there?" Sora called. His voice echoed off into the darkness.

He took a couple of steps forward, hoping he wouldn't bump into anything, or take a wrong turn and end up falling down some bottomless pit. Unsure of which direction to go in, Sora closed his eyes and spun in a circle. Coming to a stop, Sora opened his eyes and took a moment to regain his sense of direction. Then he spotted something in the dark. It was a faint light. Sora let out a small gasp and immediately took off towards the light. It wasn't that far away and before he knew it, he stood in front of it. The tiny glowing speck of light was floating at Sora's feet. Sora crouched to examine it and raised a hand to summon his Keyblade. Nothing happened. No Keyblade. Sora felt his chest tighten for a moment. A twinge of fear. No Heartless had attacked him yet, so he assumed wherever he was, he was at least safe.

Sora lowered his arm and instead raised his index finger and gently prodded the light. It suddenly grew larger, spreading under Sora's feet and shredding away the darkness around Sora until a perfect circle was formed. The light of the huge circle illuminated its own edges, revealing Sora to be standing on a giant pillar. Looking down, the circle was decorated with a beautifully crafted stain glass illustration. A sleeping replica of Sora slept on one side of the illustration, with the image of Destiny Islands behind him. However, it was the other side that spooked Sora. A teenage boy slept on the opposite side, and yet bore an identical appearance to Sora, aside from having jet black hair and was dressed in a black and red-coloured outfit resembling the one Riku had worn when corrupted by his own darkness. Sora's brain was filled with ringing alarm bells, and too many questions were popping up in his head.

"Oh, you're awake. About damn time."

Sora suddenly realised the very person he was thinking about had appeared on the pillar. He sprung back in alarm as the boy in the black and red suit marched towards him. His face was concealed beneath a helmet with a blank black visor. Vanitas stopped close to Sora and put a hand under his chin in thought.

"You! Who are you?" shouted Sora, really wishing he could draw his Keyblade in this place.

"Call me Vanitas," said Vanitas, looking about the Dive to the Heart. "It's been a while since I've been here. Though, last time it was Ventus' heart."

"You were in Ventus' heart?" repeated Sora in confusion. Vanitas placed his hands on his hips and paced about the pillar.

"In short, Xehanort had Ventus as his apprentice. To try and use his heart to forge the X-Blade. Don't bother asking what that is, I know you were awake the whole time the old coot was monologing. Anyway, Ventus didn't want to give in to the darkness in his heart, so Xehanort simply ripped it out of him. And made me. A couple of years later, I managed to reunite with Ventus and the X-Blade was created. But just when Ventus and I had been reunited, he rejected me. His own darkness. And freed his own heart. I got lost in darkness whilst he got to escape to the light of your heart! And when I finally catch up with his new home, I find out he has left your heart!"

Sora wasn't sure what to make of this guy. What he had said explained how Roxas' heart ended up in his, but he didn't know how to respond. He had been ripped from his own heart and wanted to be with him, yet had worked with Xehanort to harm others.

"So, you're now part of my heart," said Sora. "Okay."

Vanitas stopped and walked up to Sora, invading his personal space. His dark visor began to melt away with a rippling effect, and Sora's heart when cold. His own face stared back at him, only sporting yellow eyes and jet black hair. Sora backed away in shock. He glanced away from Vanitas' face to the identical one on the stain glass floor and back again. He was trying to convince himself that this was an everyday experience for him. Roxas looked quite identical to him, but this guy was taking things to the extreme.

"You look like someone who just lost their sense of self," said Vanitas with a cocky grin. "But a second back, did you just say "Okay"?"

"Yeah, I did," replied Sora, forcing a nervous smile. "I'm sorry you couldn't reunite with Ventus, but with what Xehanort is doing, maybe you'll be able to see him again."

Vanitas looked completely dumbstruck. Grimacing, he suddenly shoved Sora away, knocking him to the floor.

"You think I wanna be stuck in this place?" shouted Vanitas. "I only agreed with Xehanort to go into your dumb heart as a part of his plan so I could get back with Ventus. But he is not here. And the only way I can get out is for your heart to be unlocked with a Keyblade from the Realm of Darkness."

"But you're Keyblade looked pretty dark," said Sora.

"It's made from the darkness of Ventus' heart, not made in the Realm of Darkness!" snapped Vanitas.

"Oh, right sorry," said Sora awkwardly. Their conversation fainted into silence aside from Vanitas cursing under his breath. A thought popped up into Sora's head. "I hope my friends are alright."

"Your friends? You didn't even notice they dragged you through a portal?" asked Vanitas.

"I was unconscious. But how did they get a portal?" said Sora.

"Yeah, some weird duck and dog came shooting out of the sky with an old guy, then he and the mouse fought off the Organization whilst you were dragged through a portal," continued Vanitas. "And now we're in here."

Sora breathed a sigh of relief and got to his feet, running a hand through his spiky hair.

"Well, it means I have to get out here to stop Xehanort," he said confidently, looking about for some kind of door. He heard Vanitas laugh behind him and turned back to face his black-haired doppelganger.

"You're kidding right? I'm a part of your heart now. I'm supposed to be in control of your body," said Vanitas. "Technically, you are one of Xehanort's thirteen selves. He has influence over me, so now you're a part of him."

"He said he needed thirteen hearts of darkness and seven hearts of light to make this X-Blade thing, and needs seven warriors light to represent the seven hearts of light, and these need to be Keyblade wielders. So where is the logic in turning me into one of his hearts of darkness when I'm one of the Keyblade wielders he needs?" said Sora. If Goofy were here, he would be scratching his head by now.

"That was a pointless, overcomplicated explanation," said Vanitas grumpily. "But you've got a point."

"And how come you didn't attack us at Yen Sid's tower like the other Organization members?" asked Sora.

"I was told to stay put in the floating castle," said Vanitas. "Geezernort said it would be easier to enter your heart when you were unconscious. And even when you weren't, you were pretty easy to jump into. You are a real pushover. At least Ventus put up a fight."

"Thanks a lot," said Sora sarcastically.

"No really. You allow so many people into your heart, you'd probably let any monster or psycho in," said Vanitas mockingly, giving Sora a particularly creepy smile. "Oh wait, you did!"

"Hey, shut up. I was—" said Sora, only for Vanitas to invade his personal space again.

"What? Being kind?" asked Vanitas. "Please. You're too nice for you own good. Eventually you'll just be manipulated into doing something bad again. Like Organization XIII tried to do."

"How do you know about that?" asked Sora.

Vanitas smiled to himself. Parts of his black suit suddenly squirmed, like something was trying to claw their way out from the inside. Vanitas clenched his fists, causing a burst of dark energy to spark from them. The squirming creature grew still and retracted into Vanitas' body.

"Your Heartless. As soon as I ended up in here, it attacked me and I bonded with it," said Vanitas. "It has all of your memories, so it was pretty handy in learning what had happened around you. It's quite an adventure. Full of so many tears and despair and darkness."

"There's more to it than that," said Sora, clenching his own fists. "I met many friends along the way, and helped them with their problems. I could protect the people I care about, and stop people like Xehanort from doing evil."

"But none of that would've happened if Riku hadn't given it his own darkness," said Vanitas, as he began to circle Sora. "You are just a substitute for Riku. Got the Keyblade by chance because of your little encounter with Aqua. You should have stayed on your crumby island swinging your toy sword until the world was swallowed by darkness. At least Riku and your girlfriend would've been useful. You were just a thorn in Xehanort's backside. That was until Riku learnt to control his darkness, meaning Xehanort was one candidate short. Ventus, or Roxas, or whatever name he goes by now, was also an option but he did a runner and linked his heart back up with yours. So then Xehanort decided to try you out by having me jump in and take control. But like what has happened now, you are a mistake, Sora. Now and forever."

Sora lowered his eyes to the floor, looking at his sleeping form. It was true that he was never meant to wield the Keyblade, but a lot of good had come from it. He knew he should not hate, but he really hated Xehanort at this moment. For everything he had done. Everyone he had harmed. And all just to make a Keyblade and start off some stupid war. The worst thing was that he treated hearts like bottles on a shelf. Hearts were so much more than just tools to manipulate and pump with darkness. They were what helped defined people. That could create things like love and friendship. That is what made people strong. That's what made him strong.

"Why the hell the Keyblade chose a spiky-haired runt like you is beyond me," said Vanitas. "You're only strong because of those people whose hearts are chained to yours. You use them like a crutch and cling to them. You're heart is nothing more than a prison."

"I know the Keyblade didn't choose me, but I don't care. I'm just proud to be a small part of something bigger," said Sora. He slowly raised his head, making eye contact with Vanitas. Vanitas' confident grin quickly melted away in a look of surprised confusion. "The people it did choose. Riku, Kairi, King Mickey, Roxas, and the people connected through it like Donald, Goofy, Namine, and those other Keyblade wielders I have yet to meet and save. They're all of my friends. And if I lose the ability to wield the Keyblade. If my heart is stripped of light and darkness, or crushed into oblivion, or turned into an empty husk, I know there is one thing I can always look to. I don't need a weapon. My friends are my power!"

Sora closed his eyes for a moment, seeing the faces of all of the people he had met across the worlds, with Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy and Mickey lingering for the longest. Kairi and Riku the most. He opened his eyes to see Vanitas' face, only to be smashed hard in the side of his mouth by Vanitas' fist. Sora was sent sprawling across the floor, until he stopped in a heap. His mouth stung like there was no tomorrow, but surprisingly he wasn't bleeding or lost any teeth. Presumably because he was inside his own heart. Dazed, he looked up to see Vanitas stomping towards him. Sora staggered to his feet, only to be punched again and knocked down.

He looked up, seeing Vanitas' expression. A mix of anger and sadness. Like he had heard those words before.

"That's exactly what he said when he gave up his heart and rejected me!" Vanitas screamed, barely concealing his anger. "He threw away his heart for the sake of his friends. And a lot of good that did. Aqua got lost in darkness and Terra became Xehanort's toy. Friendship is stupid! It's dumb! It's so, so stupid!"

"When Ventus lost his heart, did you end up lost?" asked Sora, standing up again. "Trapped in darkness. And I'm guessing when he became Roxas, you got separated from him."

"That's right," said Vanitas, trying to hold back his tears of anger. "Xehanort eventually found me wandering around the Realm of Darkness and took me back to the Nobody world to be of use to him."

"So, he's just using you as well," said Sora, giving Vanitas a sympathetic look. "I know Ventus or Roxas isn't here. But I am. Maybe when I wake up, we can go and find Roxas."

Vanitas was taken aback for a moment, then his face screwed up into a look of absolute hatred. If looks could kill.

"Are you trying to be my friend?" asked Vanitas. "Why don't you just take your heart and shove it!"

Vanitas suddenly ran at Sora. Before he could react, Vanitas tackled Sora right over the edge of the pillar. Sora had a single moment to look up as the light from the shining pillar vanished upwards into eternal darkness, and his mind went with it. Maybe now he would wake up.

…

The moment Sora opened his eyes, he has to close them again. Squinting towards the bright sunlight that briefly blinded him, Sora opened his eyes and immediately saw the blue sky and fluffy white clouds above him. It didn't take a second for him to sit up and realise he had somehow ended back on Destiny Islands. However, some things were not right. Most of the trees that were usually growing around the beach were either saplings or not even there, and the old walkway that connected the beach to the small island where he and his friends watched the sunset looked like it was brand new. Something was very wrong. It was at that point that Sora's attention was drawn to the tall boy standing across the beach from him, staring out to the endless sea. He couldn't see the boy's face, but he immediately knew who he was judging by the toned skin and long silver hair. He heard the boy whisper something along the lines of "This world is too small."

It reminded him of when Riku had said something similar, inspiring their plan to build a raft and sail from their home to other worlds. Thinking back, Sora had never left his island home before the Heartless came. His parents or teachers had never talked about other islands or countries beyond the sea. Did his world merely consist of just the small archipelago of islands and an endless ocean?

Sora looked up at the boy, only to see a figure approach. This figure was dressed completely in a murky brown cloak. The boy who would become Xehanort turned to the cloaked figure, briefly startled by the cloaked figure's presence, but they quickly descended into a deep conversation which Sora couldn't make out.

"Yes, this is where it all started…" said a voice to Sora's left, causing the boy to jump out of his skin.

Sitting beside Sora was the same silver-haired boy standing just inches away. Young Xehanort, dressed in his black cloak.

"At this point, I had no idea I was talking to myself," said Young Xehanort, glancing at Sora. "He cast off his own body just to set me on the appointed path."

"What do you mean?" asked Sora, already confused.

"That cloaked figure is my Heartless, who you know as "Ansem"," explained Young Xehanort. He stood up and turned away. Sora felt himself rise up, and turned to look at the other Xehanorts, only to find himself face to face with Ansem, who suddenly smashed Sora's face hard with his sleeve.

Sora stumbled backwards, and when he opened his eyes again, he found day had turned to night and the island now looked like it usually did. Only it was being slowly demolished by the nightmarish storm swirling in the sky. Last time he was here, Sora was so focused on looking for Riku and Kairi that he had not really paid attention to what was happening to the island. Looking about, Sora turned and saw someone rushing into the cave of the secret spot. The person, a boy, was about his height. Sora's jaw dropped upon recognising who it was. The spiky hair and bright yellow trainers gave it away.

"Me?"

"This is the point in time when Ansem's patience had come into play," said Young Xehanort, standing beside Sora. "After his heart and body were split apart, Ansem cast himself back in time and ended up on this island."

"Back in time? As in time travel!?" asked the bewildered Sora. Good thing he was rational or Young Xehanort's nod of confirmation would've sent him right into cuckooland. "But that's impossible."

"As impossible as using portals of darkness to travel between worlds? As impossible as stripping a person of their heart or memories? As impossible as turning a person's heart into a monster?" retorted Young Xehanort will an irritated look on his face. "Time travel is possible. To travel through time, you must leave your body behind. But to travel to the past, there must be another incarnation of you already there. Travelling to the past without that form of anchor is impossible."

"So does that mean there are time machines and stuff? And what happens if you accidentally tread on a butterfly?" asked Sora, feeling a sudden sense of excitement in his voice. Young Xehanort gave him a look, causing him to shut up.

"After his body and heart were separated, Ansem arrived here many years ago and set me on my path to gather thirteen hearts of darkness, and then placed himself here. That is what sent all of these events in motion."

"That's crazy! Are you saying he knew everything that was going to happen before they did?" asked Sora.

"No. Not everything. But remember, Ansem possessed Riku and saw his experiences in real time, up to the point that Ansem the Wise attempted to digitize Kingdom Hearts, and the resulting explosion stripped him away from Riku. However, thanks to his ability to time travel, my Heartless escaped and shared his experiences with the rest of us, so we could be prepared for this moment."

"That only could give him enough information from one viewpoint," protested Sora. "How did he know about other events that involved me and my friends."

Young Xehanort smiled to himself and gave an answer of "Simple."

There was a sudden explosion and tremor that shook the whole island. Sora wobbled about unstably and looked up just in time to see the fourteen-year old version of Kairi being flung at him from out of the cave's entrance.

"Kairi!" he cried and instinctively threw out his arms to catch her, only for Kairi to vanish into thin air as soon as she reached him.

Sora looked about in a panic, but then realised where she had gone. When the world had fallen apart, Kairi's heart had taken shelter within his, and her body was eventually found by Riku. She had been with him all the way through his journeys to find her. She had been safe all along.

Then it hit Sora like a ton of bricks, a bolt of lightning and a mountain all at once. Kairi had been travelling with him all the time before meeting Ansem, and was within his heart. Watching everything he had seen and done. And what's more, he remembered how she had arrived on Destiny Islands. Fell out of the sky on that day when there was a meteor shower over the sea. She had come from Radiant Garden, where Ansem would have been at the time. His heart dropped.

With haunted eyes, Sora slowly turned to look at Young Xehanort. The silver-haired boy's small smile said it all. Sora found himself shaking his head in denial.

"No."

"Yes," said Young Xehanort. "You realised."

"No!"

"It was Ansem who realised there was a connection between the Keyblade and the Princesses of Heart, so he sent Kairi to this world where Terra had given Riku the ability to wield the Keyblade. Knowing Riku would for a time become my vessel like Terra, he planted the tiniest fragment of his own heart within Kairi's heart, so he could observe from within her and you what else would happen whilst he possessed Riku. This part of our plan ended when you used the Dark Keyblade to unlock your heart, freeing not only Kairi's heart but Ventus' as well, transforming him into Roxas. Ansem reclaimed the fragment of his heart when the Keyhole to Kingdom Hearts was opened. However, this too was part of our plan. Roxas could become a member of the Organization, and Kairi was too important to become one of my proper vessels. But even she was useful in our plan to complete the true Organization, and observe you, the mouse king's servants, and the worlds."

Sora stared at Young Xehanort with eyes made of daggers. Xehanort had done some truly despicable things, but in his mind, this was crossing the line. He had used the person he cared about. No, the person he loved most, to further his own ambitions. Sora was furious. He wanted to tear this monster apart here and now. He knew destroying Xehanort now would likely blow time or whatever out of order, but if it saved his friends and the worlds from this man, then maybe it was for the best. Sora opened his hand to summon his Keyblade, only to find he still couldn't. He was still powerless to stop Xehanort.

"How could you!?" he practically screamed.

"I don't see what you are getting upset about. Kairi is unharmed and now fighting by your side," said Young Xehanort, completely unfazed by Sora's reaction. "It makes much better use of her as both a Princess of Heart and as a guardian of light. Instead of waiting for a year for you and Riku to come home."

Sora's anger was rising. All kinds of violent scenarios were flashing through his head to destroy Xehanort then and there. How dare he use his friends so shamefully. Was there nothing this monster would do?

"I hate you. I hate you!" roared Sora, and he suddenly lunged at Young Xehanort, intending to beat the ever-loving daylights out of him. Young Xehanort didn't have enough time to react as Sora smashed his fist into his face, knocking him down.

Sora didn't plan to stop there. He pinned Young Xehanort, pounding his face in over and over. Driven by blind rage. He wanted to end Xehanort. Erase his wretched existence from the worlds so no one would have to suffer. A shadow appeared over Sora. He looked up with his burning eyes to see Vanitas standing over him. With quick movements, Vanitas' arms turned into dark tendrils, wrapping around Sora and tossing him aside, allowing Young Xehanort to stand, wiping blood from his nose. His face was heavily bruised and his cheeks were swollen. And yet he still smiled.

Sora blinked and Young Xehanort was suddenly gone. He looked about angrily, wanting to bash the silver-haired boy's face some more. He leapt up to face Vanitas, who looked equally angry.

"You're a real pain in the ass, Sora," said Vanitas, and with a snap of his fingers, Sora was suddenly sucked down into darkness, which formed beneath his feet.

Sora found himself freefalling through darkness again, but his anger wasn't receding. He was so mad. Mad at Xehanort. Mad at the Organization. But most of all he was mad at himself. Mad that he hated someone else with all of his heart. He had tried to be sympathetic with Xemnas after his first defeat, and often whenever he had battled one of the villains threatening individual worlds, he felt sorry that they had given into the darkness in their hearts. But this was different. Xehanort clearly lacked a conscience and reasoning with him was likely impossible. So, all that left was defeat. But if he was able to defeat Xehanort, what would he do then? Spare him, so the worlds could decide his fate. Or would he do the unthinkable. But then another though struck him like a thunderbolt. Had he already done the unthinkable. With the countless Heartless he had slain. Was he evil by killing them? Was his own heart lost to its darkness?

Sora continued floating downwards into the darkness. He closed his eyes and began to sob to himself. He really wished Riku or Kairi were with him right now. He had to apologise to them for allowing Xehanort to use them like puppets. He didn't want to fall into darkness and become Xehanort's toy. He had too many people to see and help. But he had no idea how to escape the darkness of his own heart.

"Someone please help me!"

"Okay, I will."

Sora's eyes snapped open. Someone had grabbed his arms and was preventing him from falling into the darkness. He couldn't see whoever his saviour was, but he surprised that it was a girl who had spoke to him. Sora glanced upwards, seeing a faint golden light shining above in the darkness. The girl suddenly pulled Sora up, and they flew towards the light. As they got closer to the light, Sora could make out the outline of the girl and was shocked she was wearing a black hooded cloak.

Sora closed his eyes as the bright light blinded him, and when he opened them, he found himself once again on Destiny Islands. Or at least a version of it inside his heart, or had he time travelled again? Everything looked relatively normal. The sky was decorated with a beautiful blanket of orange and yellow, and the setting sun made the passing clouds look purple in colour. However, the sun wasn't exactly setting, instead hovering in the sky like someone had stopped it to forever bathe the island in its warmth. Sora felt a gentle breeze blow through his hair, cooling his face. He felt his anger start to disappear, and replaced by an odd form of tranquillity. A feeling he hadn't felt for a long time.

Sora turned around, looking for the mysterious girl who had helped him. She was nowhere in sight.

"Hello?" Sora called. "I just wanted to say thank you!"

"You're welcome, Sora," came a reply.

Sora scanned the beach, looking for the source. He spotted the girl perched on the bendy palm tree on the small island, looking out at the golden-coloured sea. Sora quickly made his way across the beach and up onto the walkway. He slowed his pace down as he stepped onto the small island, focused on the girl. She wore her coat's hood over her face, and didn't turn or glance as Sora approached. Hovering at the trunk of the bendy tree, Sora stood in silence, observing the girl.

"Hi," he said.

"Hey," said the girl quietly. "It's nice to finally meet you, Sora."

"You know me?" asked Sora, puzzled by her words.

"I suppose you could say that," said the girl. "Though, I've known you for a while, but this is the first time we've properly met. I am a part of you after all."

"I don't get it," said Sora, folding his arms in confusion.

"The view is beautiful," commented the girl. Sora shrugged at how quickly she had changed the subject. "I sit here and watch it a lot. It would nice if the sun set. I bet this place looks beautiful at night."

"How long have you been here? I mean, we're in my heart, right?" asked Sora, taking a few steps towards the girl to get a glimpse of her face. She was pretty smart, looking away so he couldn't get a look.

"A while," she replied softly. She leaned back on the tree for a moment, as if mulling over a better answer. "Just over a year, I think. Don't worry though. That Vanitas guy can't get in here. No darkness can come here."

"If that's the case, why didn't you call for me?" asked Sora. "Roxas talked to me all the time."

"Roxas doesn't remember me, so we didn't see each other in this place. Technically, I'm not meant to exist," replied the girl.

"What?" cried Sora. "How are you not meant to exist?"

Sora was becoming more and more confused. This girl seemed nice, but she wasn't exactly a great conversationalist, and was being way too vague in her answers. He thought for a moment, trying to understand her words. She knew Roxas, but claimed she wasn't meant to exist. He quickly found a possible answer.

"Are you a Nobody?" he asked.

"Sort of," said the girl. "It's complicated."

Sora let out a small laugh, and looked around at his surroundings.

"Well, it looks like I'm not going anywhere," he said with a goofy smile. Walking around the back of the tree, Sora leapt over it and plopped himself down beside the hooded girl.

She shifted uncomfortably for a moment, but then relaxed. Sora offered a hand to her.

"Even though you already know me somehow, I'm Sora," said Sora.

The girl turned to face him, offering him a warm smile. Loosening her hood, the girl pushed it off her head. She bore a striking resemblance to Kairi, sporting her blue eyes, but had short, raven black hair with several long bangs hanging over the left side of her hair face. She gently took Sora's hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Sora," said the raven-haired girl. "Call me Xion."

The two shook hands. A handshake that felt like an eternity for Sora. He didn't know why, but he had the strangest feeling he had met this girl before. Not because she looked like Kairi, but it felt like he had spent a lot of time with her, even though they had never met before that day. Sora could only assume his new friend could shed some light on his thoughts, and why and how she knew Roxas. He knew he had to save people who were lost. Perhaps Xion was one of the people that needed to be saved. For the moment, he listened with amazement as Xion told him what her life was like before she ended up in his heart. He learnt how she was created from his memories, was the fourteenth member of Organization XIII, which in turn led them chatting the reason why the Nobodies didn't rename their group, and her relationships with Roxas and Axel.

And for most of the time, Xion was quite emotional about it. Going from moody to sad whispers, or suddenly burst out laughing. By the end of her lengthy tale, Xion formed a dazzling smile on her face. Sora was entranced by it. Something told Sora that she hadn't smiled for quite some time. Maybe she was happy to have someone to talk to. Well, she didn't have to be alone anymore.

Sora grinned. He wasn't going to give in to his darkness anytime soon. He could still help people.

…

**Wow, I didn't expect to have another chapter out so quickly after the last one. It's a record for me. Anyway, I did intend on having a scene with Namine having a weird dream-memory after Sora met Xion, but decided to leave something like that for another chapter.**

**The next chapter will deal with how Riku, Kairi, Donald and Goofy will try to wake up Sora, and reveal some secrets about the experiments done by the founding members of Organization XIII.  
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